"We haven't all of us your faith, my dear," Sir Jasper said, sadly. "When my son was taken from me—"
He paused, and Joy exclaimed:
"Oh, Uncle Jasper, I've so often thought what you must have felt then! It must have been dreadfully, dreadfully hard for you to bear."
"It was, my dear. He was all I had, and God took him from me. It almost destroyed my faith in the Almighty—but that was my selfishness. There is another world than this."
"Yes, and some day you will meet your son again," Joy said, softly, "and then you will understand why God took him."
The old man talked with Joy some time longer, and when at last he took a lingering farewell of her, Mrs. Wallis, who had been seated at the far end of the room listening to the conversation, accompanied him to the pony carriage. Joy shed a few regretful tears after he had gone and her heart was sore as she remembered that she might never see him more. She had forgiven him his unkindness to her in the past—indeed, she never resented it, though it had grieved sorely—and now remembered only his generosity, and that he had tried to make them all happy.
The next day the Wallis family left Devonshire, and returned to A—. The journey was accomplished easily, and Joy experienced no ill effects from the move. At the end of another week Eric went back to school, whilst his mother and sisters settled down quietly in their old home. There was a new maid-of-all-work in the kitchen, and Jane was in attendance upon Joy.
It had been decided that Celia was to remain at home till Christmas, after which she was to be sent to a good boarding-school, by Sir Jasper's desire. The three months at home did much for Celia, for during that time she learnt many lessons she had failed grasp before—lessons of self-denial, and patience, and humility.
Joy was always more or less ill and suffering, and Celia gave up many a pleasure to devote herself to her sister, whom she had neglected and ill-used during their visit to the Moat House. The old sisterly love between the two grew and strengthened in those days till there was full confidence between them once more.
"I believe that having every comfort and luxury at the Moat House actually turned my head," Celia remarked to her mother on one occasion; "it certainly brought out all my worst qualities. I never was really happy all the time I was there. Oh, mother, I do feel so ashamed when I remember I was as good as sent away in disgrace from the house, and through me there was no longer a home there for you and Joy and Eric! I was never so well off in my life as I was there—and yet that did not make me happy."