Two years pass quickly, particularly at school, and to Maddy Clyde,
talking with her companions of the coming holidays, it seemed hardly
possible that two whole years were gone since the eventful vacation
when Dr. Holbrook had so startled her by offering her his hand. He was
in Europe still, and another name than his was on the little office in
Mrs. Conner's yard. To Maddy he now wrote frequently; friendly,
familiar letters, such as a brother might write, never referring to
the past, but telling her whatever he thought would interest and
please her. Occasionally at first, and more frequently afterward, he
spoke of Margaret Atherstone, Lucy's younger sister, a brilliant,
beautiful girl who reminded him, he said, of Maddy, only she was
saucier, and more of a tease; not at all like Lucy, whom he described
as something perfectly angelic. Her twenty-fifth birthday found her on
a sickbed, with Dr. Holbrook in attendance, and this was the reason
given why the marriage between herself and Guy was again deferred.
There had been many weeks of pain, succeeded by long, weary months of
languor, and during all this time the doctor had been with her as the
family physician, while Margaret also had been constantly in
attendance. But Lucy was much better now. She could sit up all day,
and even walk a little distance, assisted by the doctor and Margaret,
whose name had become to be almost as familiar to Maddy as was that of
Lucy. And Maddy, in thinking of Margaret, sometimes wondered "if----"
but never went any farther than that. Neither did she ask Guy a word
about her, though she knew he must have seen her. She not say much to
him of Lucy, but she wondered why he did not go for her, and wanted to
talk with him about it but he was so changed that she dared not. He
was not sociable, as of old, and Agnes did not hesitate to call him
cross, while Jessie complained that he never walked or played with her
now, but sat all day long in a deep reverie of some kind.
On this account Maddy did not look forward to the coming vacation as
joyfully as she would otherwise have done. Still it was, always
pleasant going home, and she sat talking with her young friends of all
they expected to do, when a servant entered the room and glancing over
the group of girls, singled Maddy out saying, as he placed an unsealed
envelope in her hand. "A telegram for Miss Clyde."
There was a blur before Maddy's eyes, so that at first she could not
see clearly, and Jessie, climbing on the bench beside her, read aloud: "Your grandmother is dying. Come at once. Agnes and Jessie will stay
till next week.