Gunlaug asked no questions; she wholly trusted unless her confidence were once utterly shaken.
But from Ödegaard also Petra had concealments from that day; for she received many presents from Pedro Ohlsen. Yet Ödegaard did not question her either, but day by day his instructions became more formal. Thus Petra was shared by three people; with none of them could she speak of the others and she had something to hide from each.
In the mean while she had grown up, without being herself aware of it, and one day Ödegaard informed her that she must be confirmed.
This announcement filled her with great disquietude; for she knew that with confirmation her instructions would end, and what would become of her then? Her mother was having an attic built to her house; after confirmation Petra was to have a room of her own; the incessant hammering and pounding were painful reminders to her. Ödegaard saw her grow more and more silent, occasionally he saw also that she had been weeping. Under such circumstances the preparation for confirmation made a deep impression on her, although Ödegaard, with tender solicitude, avoided everything calculated to rouse her emotions. For this reason he coneluded his instructions about a fortnight
