“Niver mind the past, dearie. Love can work miracles. If Harry really loved thee he will come back to thee. Love is the old heartache of the world, and then all in a minute some day, he is the Healing Love and The Comforter. I hev a good mind to tell thee something, that I niver told to any ither mortal sinner.”
“If it would help me to bear more cheerfully my great loss, I would be glad to hear anything of that kind.”
Then Josepha sat down and spread her large capable hands one over each knee and looking Kitty full in the eyes said—“I was at thy age as far gone in love, with as handsome a youth as your Harry is. One morning we hed a few words about the value of good birth, and out of pure contradiction I set it up far beyond what I really thought of it; though I’ll confess I am yet a bit weak about my awn ancestors. Now my lover was on this subject varry touchy, for his family hed money, more than enough, but hed no landed gentry, and no coat of arms, in fact, no family. And I hed just hed a few words with mother, and Antony hedn’t stood up for me. Besides, I wasn’t dressed fit to be seen, or I thought I wasn’t, and I was out with mother, and out with Antony, well then, I was out with mysen, and all the world beside; and I asked varry crossly: ‘Whativer brings thee here at this time of day? I should hev thought thou knew enough to tell thysen, a girl hes no liking for a lover that comes in the morning. He’s nothing but in her way.’”
“Oh, auntie, how could you?”
“Well, then, there was a varry boisterous wind blowing, and they do say, the devil is allays busy in a high wind. I suppose he came my road that morning, and instead of saying ‘be off with thee’ I made him so comfortable in my hot temper, he just bided at my side, and egged me on, to snap out ivery kind of provoking thing.”
“I am very much astonished, aunt. The fair word that turneth away wrath is more like you.”
“For sure it is, or else there hes been a great change for t’ better since that time. Well, that day it was thus, and so; and I hev often wondered as to the why and wherefore of that morning’s foolishness.”
“Did he go away forever that morning?”
“He did not come for a week, and during that week, Admiral Temple came to see father, and he stayed until he took with him my promise to be his wife early in the spring.”
“Were you very miserable, auntie?”