But the good, grateful girl had
heard from my son the true story of all that I had done, and
hoped, and suffered for the last ten days, and showed charmingly
how she felt it by turning at once to _me_.
"May I stop at the Glen Tower a little longer?" she asked,
simply.
"If you think you can get through your evenings, my love," I
answered. "'But surely you forget that the Purple Volume is
closed, and that the stories have all come to an end?"
She clasped her arms round my neck, and laid her cheek fondly
against mine.
"How you must have suffered yesterday!" she whispered, softly.
"And how happy I am to-day!"
The tears gathered in her eyes and dropped over her cheeks as she
raised her head to look at me affectionately when I said those
words. I gently unclasped her arms and led her to George.
"So you really did love him, then, after all," I whispered,
"though you were too sly to let me discover it?"
A smile broke out among the tears as her eyes wandered away from
mine and stole a look at my son. The clock struck the hour, and
the servant came in with breakfast. A little domestic
interruption of this kind was all that was wanted to put us at
our ease. We drew round the table cheerfully, and set the Queen
of Hearts at the head of it, in the character of mistress of the
house already.
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