"At the works?"
"Yes; or at the hotel, where he has a suite of rooms which he occupies occasionally."
"Dear me! So you have been alone here all day long, every day but Sunday! And now I have come to keep you company, darling! You shall not feel lonely any longer. And—what was that Mary Queen of Scots said to her lady hostess on the night she passed at the castle in her sad progress from one prison to another:
"'We two widows, having no husbands to trouble us, may agree very well,' or words to that effect. So, darling, you and I, having no husbands to trouble us, may also agree very well. Shall we not?"
"I cannot speak so lightly on so grave a subject, Mrs. Stillwater," said Cora.
Old Mr. Rockharrt came in.
"Good morning, Cora! Good morning, Mrs. Stillwater! I hope you feel quite rested from your journey."
"Oh, quite, thank you! And when I woke up this morning, I was so surprised and delighted to find myself safe at home! Ah! I beg pardon! But I spent so many years in this dear old house, the happiest years of my life, that I always think of it as home, the only home I ever had in all my life," said Rose, pathetically, while tears glistened in her soft blue eyes.
"You poor child! Well, there is no reason why you should ever leave this haven again. My granddaughter needs just such a bright companion as you are sure to be. And who so fitting a one as her first young governess?"
"Oh, sir, you are so good to me! May heaven reward you! But Mrs. Rothsay?" she said, with an appealing glance toward Cora.