"Are you unjustly punished?" he asked.
"Sometimes I think so, but I cannot tell."
"We will not mention the matter again," said the doctor, kindly; "we will think only of the new life and getting well. As a preparatory step to the latter, let me tell you that you must eat all these grapes, and then lie down and sleep again."
For the sweet face had grown so white and worn, so pale and tired—he saw that the effort she had made had been a most painful one.
"We will leave her alone, mother," he said.
But before Mrs. Chalmers quitted the room she unlocked a drawer and took from it a small purse; this she placed in Millicent's hand.
"This is yours, my dear," she said; "it fell from your pocket the evening you came here."
The sight of the little purse almost unnerved her. She remembered how Adrian had laughed at it, and had promised to buy her one with golden clasps. She took it, and then looked wistfully in the lady's face.
"No, my dear," said Mrs. Chalmers, "it is not to be thought of for one moment. What my son and I have done has not been for gain. Keep it, my poor child; you will need it in this new life that lies before you."