"Perhaps you may have heard that mother was once much opposed to
Charlie. I must say, however, that she has done well at the last, for
when I told her I had found him, and that we were to be married, she
said she was glad on the whole, as it relieved her of a load, and she
hoped I would be happy."
Anna did not explain to Alice that the load of which her mother was
relieved was mostly Charlie's hidden letters, given up with a full
confession of the pains taken to conceal them, and a frank
acknowledgment of wrong to Anna, who, as her letter indicated, was far
too happy to be angry for a single moment. With a smile, Alice finished
the childlike letter, so much like Anna. Then feeling that Hugh would be
glad to hear from Willie, she went in quest of him, finding him at the
end of the long piazza, where he sat gazing vacantly at the open letter
in his hand--Irving Stanley's letter, which he passed at once to Alice
in exchange for Anna's given to him.
Glancing at the name at the bottom of the page, Alice blushed painfully,
feeling rather than seeing that Hugh was watching her, and guessing of
what he was thinking. Irving did not know of 'Lina's death. From Dr.
Richards, whom he had accidentally met on Broadway, he had heard of her
sudden illness, and apparently accepted that as the reason why the
marriage was not consummated. Intuitively, however, he felt that there
must be something behind, but he was far too well-bred to ask any idle
questions, and in his letter he merely inquired after 'Lina, as after
any sick friend, playfully hoping that for the sake of the doctor, who
looked very blue, she would soon recover and make him the happiest man
alive. Then followed some allusions to the relationship existing between
himself and Hugh, with regrets that more had not been made of it, and
then he said that having decided to accompany his sister and Mrs.
Ellsworth on her tour to Europe, whither she would go the latter part of
July, and having nothing in particular to occupy him in the interim, he
would, with Hugh's permission, spend a few days at Spring Bank. He did
not say he was coming to see Alice Johnson, but Hugh understood it just
the same, feeling confident that his sole object in visiting Kentucky
was to take Alice back with him, and carry her off to Europe.
Some such idea flitted across Alice's mind as she read that letter, and
for a single instant her eyes sparkled with delight at the thought of
wandering over Europe in company with Mrs. Ellsworth and Irving Stanley;
but when she looked at Hugh, the bright vision faded, and with it all
desire to go with Irving Stanley, even should he ask her. Hugh needed
her more than Irving Stanley. He was, if possible, more worthy of her.
His noble, unselfish devotion to 'Lina had finished the work begun on
that memorable night, when she said to him: "I may learn to love you,"
and from the moment when to 'Lina's passionate cry, "Will no one pity
me?" he had answered, "Yes, 'Lina, I will care for you," her heart had
been all his own, and more than once as she watched with him by 'Lina's
bedside, she had been tempted to wind her arm around his neck and
whisper in his ear: "Hugh, I love you now, I will be your wife."