‘Can’t you ask some one’s advice?’ said Gillian.
‘If I were sure they quite understood! My head is quite tired with thinking about it.’
Not many moments had passed before there were steps that made Kalliope start painfully, and Maura appeared, piloting another visitor. It was Miss Mohun, who had escaped from the survey of the rooms,—so far uneasy at what she had gathered from Mr. White, that she was the more anxious to make the offer previously agreed to.
‘My dear,’ she said, ‘I am afraid you look tired.’
‘They have worried her and knocked her up,’ said Gillian indignantly.
‘I see! Kally, my dear, we are connections now, you know, and I have heard of Mr. White’s plan. It made me think whether you would find the matter easier if you let me have Maura while you are away to cheer my solitude. Then I could see that she did her lessons, and, between all Gillian’s brothers, we could see that Petros was happy in the holidays.’
‘Oh, Miss Mohun! how can I be grateful enough? There is an end of all difficulties.’
And when the inspecting party came round, and Adeline bent to kiss the white, weary, but no longer distressed face, and kindly said, ‘We shall see a great deal of each other, I hope,’ she replied, with an earnest ‘thank you,’ and added to Mr. White, ‘Miss Mohun has made it all easy to me, sir, and I am very grateful!’
‘Ay, ay! You’re a good girl at the bottom, and have some sense!’