“New books! Oh, thank you, dear Alick; where are they?” eagerly exclaimed Drusilla, rising from her chair to look for them; for she who had so few amusements—so few?—I should have said no amusements at all,—was delighted at the mention of new books. “Where are they, Alick dear?” she repeated, glancing around the room.
“Sit down, my pet. Do you think I could have brought them in my hand, or in my pocket? Why, they are an armful for a railway porter. I left them in the sleigh in the stable. You shall have a glorious time over them to-morrow; it is too late to look at them to-night even if we had them lying before us; for, do you see what o’clock it is?”
Drusilla glanced up at the Ormolu time-piece on the mantle shelf, and saw, with surprise, that it was nearly two o’clock in the morning.
And Alexander arose at the same moment to put up the guard and close the shutters, saying, with a smile,
“We have to be our own servants when we are so unreasonable as to sit up so late, love.” And soon after both retired.
The next day was intensely cold, but clear and brilliant; the ground was covered deep with hard frozen snow, and the trees were clothed with frost and ice, and the sun shone out of a bright blue sky, lighting up all the scene with blinding radiance.
Immediately after breakfast, Mr. Lyon had the sleigh brought around to the door. The packages, left in it from the night before, were ordered to be taken out and brought into the drawing-room.
“Here, little one! here are some dozens of new books that will help you to kill the time between this and my return,” said Alexander, directing her attention to the packages.
“Oh, thank you, Alick. But must you go to town again to-day?”
“Of course I must; I must go every day for some time yet.”