Again the sun is setting behind Old Neversink. The laurels take on a rosier hue in the warm afterglow, and we recognize two figures, Hernando and Celeste, wending their way along the Berm toward The Laurels.
“It does seem,” Celeste was saying, “that some evil genius keeps our family separated. It’s too bad. Just as Jack has decided to come back to Nootwyck to live, Eletheer makes up her mind to locate in California. If she shouldn’t like the West and should return home to practice, Cornelia and George would most likely move off somewhere.”
“What a home in every sense of the word is George and Cornelia’s!”
“Yes,” Celeste laughed, “they are as happy as two kittens. The Van Tines are a good old family and mother is satisfied with the match. By the way, Cornelia tells me that Mr. Watson is seriously considering your uncle’s proposal that he come North and be associated with him at the bank.”
The laurels take on a rosier hue in the warm afterglow
“Yes, and I sincerely trust that he will accept. Uncle’s business cares are too heavy for him to bear alone; then, too, it would be a good thing for Watson. A man needs a home. He has a warm welcome awaiting him at uncle’s and Mary is sighing to be a daughter to him.”
“Mary is a lovely woman and an accomplished housekeeper; but she seems to have never fully recovered from that shock.”
“Does it seem possible that nearly three years have passed since—he—Watson—” Then with a gulp Hernando added,—“Mary is still nervous but Watson’s very presence is an antidote for nerves.”