"She is preparing to go now."
"My girl—my bright, beautiful girl! She has always been the angel in my path. But for her, this might never have come. But we cannot give her up—not entirely. You will not consent to that?"
"If we do, it will be only for a time, Rachael. The countess is very old."
"Yes, it will not be for long, and we can trust Clara. I will go to her now. She will need my help, and every minute she stays under this roof is a grain of gold which I must not lose. Oh! Norton, this is glorious news that you have brought me! What can have wrought this change in the old countess? I am going to Clara now."
As Lady Hope opened the door, Clara stood upon the threshold, ready for her journey. She knew that this letter was the first that her father had received from Lady Carset for years, and was curious to know its meaning. She could not remember when Lady Carset's name had been spoken in that house without bitterness, and was astonished to hear the cheerful animation with which it was spoken now.
"Am I really to go, papa? Do you wish it? Is mamma Rachael willing? Let me read the letter, please."
Lord Hope gave her the letter, and replied as she was reading it:
"Yes, my child, it is but right. The old lady is your nearest female relative."
Here Clara reached out her hand to Lady Hope, but kept her eyes on the letter, reading and listening at the same time.
"And you think it best, mamma?" inquired Clara, folding the letter. "What a delicate, stately hand the old lady writes! You don't object?"