“(Now Johnny is my nephew, on a visit to me at present.) I looked at her in perfect astonishment to hear her talk of leaving me so suddenly at that hour of the night. And when I looked I saw her face was as white as marble and nearly as hard in its expression of settled determination.
“‘My dear Miss Conyers,’ I said, ‘I hope you have heard no bad news that takes you away to-night. Hadn’t you better wait till to-morrow? It is very late to leave the house.’
“‘I must go nevertheless. Can you let Johnny call a carriage for me?’ she said.
“I declare I was so struck all in a heap that I hardly knew whether I was standing on my head or my heels. Johnny was drawing pictures on the slate by my side. And the livery stable was no great distance off; so I said ‘Yes,’ and sent the boy right away to call the carriage.
“And she went up stairs to put on her things, and I went down into the kitchen to make her a cup of tea and a round of toast; for I knew I should have time to do it, because the livery men would be at least twenty minutes getting the carriage ready; and the kettle was already boiling; and I was determined she shouldn’t go out of my house without her tea. So, sure enough in about ten minutes I had it all ready, and took it up on the waiter, and set it on the parlor table. She was sitting there, with her bonnet and shawl on, and her traveling basket in her hand.
“‘Try and eat a bit, my dear,’ I said. ‘You will have plenty of time. The carriage won’t be here for ten minutes yet.’
“She smiled and thanked me her own gracious way, that always reminds me of a princess, though I never saw one, and she sat down and drank the tea and ate the toast, and by that time the carriage came, little Johnny riding on the box with the driver.
“So she got up and sent the driver up to her room to bring her trunk down; and while he was doing that, she took out her little purse and paid me the week’s board, though it wanted two days of being due. And then she gave me this letter for you.
“And when the man had put her trunk on the carriage, she bade us all good-bye.
“‘But where are you going, my dear?’ I asked, as I held her hand, unwilling—oh, yes, the Lord knows how unwilling to see her go.