Grace, standing in front of the fire, shook her head quietly.
“I shall be glad when his mother and sister come next week. I like him so much; but, I confess, he is a little bit of an anxiety to me. The house will be all cozy, I hope, by the end of next week, when my new visitors arrive.”
“It looks delightful now—a real home,” Valentine said, but he spoke abstractedly.
A little later on he inquired of Grace if she knew what Sacha’s plans were.
“Is he going to stay down here much longer? Usually he does not honor us so much,” he said.
Grace hurried to reply.
“Oh! I don’t want Sacha to go before Mrs. Pennington and her daughter have come and gone. He can help to amuse them so well, and besides it is right and proper that he should be here, Val. I am delighted he is staying so long.”
“It certainly will not be right or proper that Sacha should be so constantly at Sunstead while the Penningtons are here,” Valentine said, grimly. “The situation will be a very unpleasant one, seeing that Lady Wentworth ignores her mother and sister completely.”
Grace looked troubled, then her face cleared.
“I will speak to Sacha. He is so clever he is sure to arrange matters well. I don’t want to send him back to London—we see him so seldom nowadays.”