“Miss Grantham will no doubt write to you of the Retreat. It was quite beautiful, and the discourse this morning which came before the bestowal of the Papal Blessing was most moving. I feel that we have all derived great benefit and many graces, and you may be sure that I remembered my promise to say many a little prayer for you and yours.
“Mère Pauline sends many kind thoughts, and will not forget you in her good prayers. And now, with most earnest wishes for the future, dear Mrs. Severing, I must close.
“Most cordially yours,
“Mary-Th- Mulholland,
“E. de M.”
Bertha returned the letter without a word to its owner.
But the goaded Mrs. Severing was not yet free to take her departure from Porthlew.
She was waylaid in the very hall by Rosamund.
“Wretched child!” thought Nina, who had by this time educated herself into thinking of Miss Grantham solely as the destroyer of Morris’s peace of mind. “However, I suppose she’s miserable by this time, and wants to know if there’s any chance of patching up a meeting or something with him.”
With this in mind, Mrs. Severing advanced with an air of guilelessness, and a sense of diplomacy.
“I’m just off, dear,” she said sweetly to Rosamund. “Your beloved guardian has really tempted me to stay on longer than I ought—it is such a joy to spend an hour with her.”
“I won’t keep you one minute,” said Rosamund, “but I had to ask you—I do so want to hear....”