After that she left her alone in the dark, and Lily, frightened once more and broken-hearted, sobbed till she fell asleep.
Very early the next morning she found herself sitting alone in the waiting-room at Moreton Road Station. Outside, a wild tempest of wind and rain was tearing past the wooden building, rattling the windows, streaming noisily down the roofs. The cold breeze that whistled among the booths at Carsham had brought this, and the second day of the fair was likely to be anything but cheerful. Dick and his wife had no objection to the bad weather. He despatched her and the child early to the station, lingering himself to the last moment in the comfortable bar of the inn. She, arriving at the station, found it was half an hour too early, and could not resist running back for an extra glass of something hot to cheer her through the journey. She kept out of his sight, knowing very well that he would not approve of her leaving the little girl alone. She had herself no fears on that score. Lily was neither old nor clever enough to run away. She left her quite quiet and sad and sleepy in a corner of the bench, so wrapped in shawls that her little face was hardly to be seen.
She had only been alone there a few minutes, when two people with wet umbrellas and waterproofs hurried along the platform and came in. They were an elderly man and his wife, who sat down side by side, and began talking of the business that was taking them to London by the early train. At first Lily in her misery hardly noticed them; but presently the man said—"It was a good thing that our friend John had not such weather as this for his long walk."
"Ah! I thought he might as well have stayed till this morning, but there never was such a young man for going home to his mother. Still, I've nothing to say against him. Of all your friends, Isaac, John Randal's the one I like the best."
"And well you may, Jemima," said the old schoolmaster. "He deserves both respect and affection. I am anxious to see Miss Mary Alfrick; I wish John would bring her one of these days to pay us a visit. And his little Lily too. It would give me sincere pleasure to see those three together."
"I'm afraid that poor child stands in the way of his marriage," said Mrs. Bland. "Goodness me, what's this?"
For suddenly the bundle of shawls in the opposite corner scrambled down from the bench, shuffled as well as it could across the floor, and made frantic efforts to climb into her lap.
"What little girl is this?" said the schoolmaster.
Lily pushed the shawl desperately back. With large eyes wet with tears she made her silent petition for help.
"Please," she said then, "I'm John's little girl, I'm John's Lily. Please take me home."