How slowly the time crept on as she lay awake. She heard Mrs. Vallance and Polly ascending the back stairs, and a short while later her father and uncle bade each other good-night on the landing outside her door. The hall clock struck eleven!—twelve!—and still Angel tossed restlessly about, her mind too disordered to admit of her sleeping. A feeling of utter desolation crept over her as she thought that, in all probability, she was the only member of the household who was awake; a sense of intense loneliness occupied her sore heart; she found no consolation in prayer as she usually did, not then realizing, poor child, that her unforgiving spirit stood between her and God; and, at last, she indulged in a fit of weeping, and finally sobbed herself to sleep.
Meanwhile, Gerald was lying awake too, thinking uneasily of his quarrel with his sister. Never had he known her so apparently hard-hearted before; certainly never had he begged for her forgiveness in vain until to-night. "It was cruel and wicked of me to hit her," the boy acknowledged to himself, "but she might have believed I was speaking the truth when I told her I was sorry. I might have known she wouldn't have sneaked to father about me. She was never a tell-tale. Oh, dear, how frightened I was when father asked me what I had been doing with my money! I suppose it was wrong to deceive him, but what could I do? I did hope to be able to pay Angel that eighteen pence to-day. If only I had won that bet! I've half a mind not to bet any more; but then, I must pay Hope what I owe him, and I must get the money somehow."
Gerald sighed, and wished regretfully he had never been tempted to bet at all, and what with the thought of his quarrel with his sister and his other difficulties, he was quite as long in getting to sleep as Angel was, so that it was past midnight before either of the young people at Haresdown House obtained any rest that night.
[CHAPTER XXI]
Miss Goodwin's Brother
SUNDAY morning dawned with brilliant sunshine, and promised to be a perfect summer's day. Angel arose with a bad headache, no doubt caused by her fit of violent weeping the preceding night; and she was so pale and heavy-eyed when she appeared at the breakfast-table, that her father told her she had better remain at home and rest, instead of going to church. She was glad to do this, and as soon as she was alone, fetched her Bible, and settled herself comfortably on the sofa in the dining-room.
"How nice it is that father is strong enough to walk up Haresdown hill," Angel thought as she opened her Bible at a venture, and commenced to read. She found it very difficult to prevent her mind straying from the sacred volume at first to other matters; but presently her attention was chained.
"And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."
"Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice;"
"And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."