Opal blushed quite a deep shade of pink when the other girl suggested that she must come from a wealthy family. She'd said "good" but they both knew what that meant. Truthfully, it was pretty obvious that Rowan came from a family that was more well situated than Opal's had been. And one that loved her if they wanted her to better herself.
She leaned over and gently tugged Rowan's hands away from her face, so that she could be certain the other girl was looking at her. Then Opal very deliberately shook her head and gave her a big smile to show there was no offense, either given or taken. They were just fine.
Then she took up the pencil again. How she wished she could just speak to Rowan, but it wasn't advisable. She'd given a renewed promise to her father-in-law, and breaking it would not only be dishonorable on her part, she'd let Henry down. Opal couldn't stand the thought of doing that at all.
Finally, she turned the paper around so that Rowan could read the words: "My husband's family wants me to learn to be better."