No one ever made any reference to Celia's deceptions of the previous year; and she was intensely relieved and grateful on that account. The consideration and kindness of her relations and friends touched her deeply, and as the sunny days of the long vacation slipped away, she grew happier, and more at her ease with Sir Jasper, who now appeared to divide his affection more equally between his niece's children, so that it would have been difficult to have said which was his favourite—the outspoken school boy, with his high spirits and somewhat boisterous ways; the pretty, golden-haired girl who flushed with real pleasure if called upon to do him a service; or the little, pale-faced maiden, who, though lame, accepted her affliction with resignation, and possessed one of the happiest faces in the world.
THE END.
HEADLEY BROTHERS, PRINTERS, LONDON; AND ASHFORD, KENT.