“Oh!” returned Bertie, who was getting a little puzzled by Queenie’s romance.
“Yes, all that happened ever so long ago, when Uncle Fred was quite young, and before he came into his money. But he never married even when he was quite rich, because he never had cared for any lady except the one he wanted to marry long ago. Well, last year he went out to Australia, as I told you. He had made a good many friends there before, and he thought he would like to go and see them all again. And when he was at Sydney or Melbourne, or one of those places, he went once to a great party given by some rich man there, and when he got there, who was it, do you think, that he met?”
Queenie’s face told its own tale. Bertie was not very well read in romances, but he could guess the sequel to this one. “I suppose you mean that he met the lady that he wanted to marry once.”
“Yes,” answered Queenie, very impressively, “the lady he is going to marry now—at least he has married her, I suppose, already, and perhaps they are on their way home now.”
“But I thought she had married somebody else,” objected Bertie.
“She did years and years ago, but he died very soon after they were married; only Uncle Fred had never heard of it. Her old father died too, by and by, and she was left all alone; and she had some cousins in Australia who asked her to come and live with them, and so she did. I don’t think she’s been long in Australia; I don’t think her father died till last year or something; anyhow, she was there when Uncle Fred found her last Christmas, and now they will be married and come and live here.”
Bertie’s interest was now fully aroused.
“That will be nice,” he said. “I’m glad nobody’s coming that we don’t know. I like Uncle Fred; he was always very kind to me.”
“He always liked you,” answered Queenie. “He took a fancy to you from the first moment. He will be a nice neighbor for the Squire too; they always got on very well together. I hope he will have a nice wife. He must be very fond of her, so I should think she was nice.”
Bertie was less interested upon this point than upon others.