"So Mrs. Thorne has heard. Dr. Thorne has written to tell her the whole story."
"And now I've come to look for Mr. Eames's reward."
"His reward, Mrs. Arabin?"
"Yes; or rather to plead for him. You will not, I hope, be angry with him because he has told me much of his history while we were travelling home alone together."
"Oh, no," said Lily, smiling. "How could he have chosen a better friend in whom to trust?"
"He could certainly have chosen none who would take his part more sincerely. He is so good and so amiable! He is so pleasant in his ways, and so fitted to make a woman happy! And then, Miss Dale, he is also so devoted!"
"He is an old friend of ours, Mrs. Arabin."
"So he has told me."
"And we all of us love him dearly. Mamma is very much attached to him."
"Unless he flatters himself, there is no one belonging to you who would not wish that he should be nearer and dearer still."