Her father met her in the hall.
"Here you are," he said. "I hardly expected you home as yet. Everybody is out, so you must tell me your experiences and adventures if you have any to tell."
"I have not many," said Janetta, brightly. "Only everybody has been very, very kind."
"I'm glad to hear of it; but I should be surprised if people were not kind to my Janet."
"Nobody is half so kind as you are," said Janetta, fondly. "Have you been very busy to-day, father?"
"Very, dear. And I have been to Brand Hall."
He drew her inside his consulting-room as he spoke. It was a little room near the hall-door, opposite the dining-room. Janetta did not often go there, and felt as if some rather serious communication were to be made.
"Did you see the little boy, father?"
"Yes—and his grandmother."
"And may I go to see Mrs. Brand?"