“Yes, my dear, I quite understand that. At that time he was perfect in your eyes, but for all that he was lean.”
“You are quite right, sir, I was, and I really wonder that I have put on flesh so much. The diet of a French prisoner is not calculated to promote stoutness. But your daughter was not only sharper-sighted than you, but even than myself. Till she spoke to me I had not an idea who she was. I saw that she thought she recognized me, but I was afraid it would [pg 320]be rude on my part to look at her closely. Of course now I do see the likeness to the Alice I knew, but she has changed far more than I have. She was a little girl of fourteen then, very pretty, certainly, I thought, but still quite a girl—” and he stopped.
“Now, you mean that I have grown into a young woman, and have lost my prettiness?”
“I think your looking-glass tells you another story,” he laughed. “If it doesn’t, it must be a very bad one.”
“Well, now, do sit down,” her father said. “You must have an immense deal to tell us.”
“It is a longish story,” Will replied, “too long to tell straight off. Besides, I want to ask some questions. When did you come home? Have you come for good? If not, how long are you going to stay? though I am sorry to say that the length of your visit can affect me comparatively little, for I am appointed second-lieutenant of the Jason, and must join in a few days.”
“I congratulate you very heartily, Will,” Mr. Palethorpe said. “You are fortunate indeed to get such promotion so early.”
“I am most fortunate, sir. Though just at present I feel inclined to wish that it hadn’t come quite so soon.”
“In answer to your question, Will, I can say that we are home for good. I have disposed of my estate and wound up my business, principally, I think, because this little girl had made up her mind that she should like England better than Jamaica.”
“I am glad to hear that, sir. I shall have something to look forward to when I return to England.”