“It is a very pretty little place,” Paul said, looking around.
“You may wait in the library until the dinner hour. After dinner you may begin your work.”
June thought Paul looked rather pale, and wondered if he were not homesick. She really pitied him, she said to Scott, when she found her brother alone. Mrs. Wilmer gave him a half friendly welcome as he took his seat by Scott’s side at the table, but she did think Scott had a little more regard for caste than to allow his valet to eat at the table with the family. She thought it would be almost as reasonable to think of allowing one of her servant girls to sit with them. She did not dare to say a word of disapproval, for Scott said the boy was lonely, and he had taken such a fancy to him, too, and he would, no doubt, argue her out of all reason and do as he thought right.
The room which he occupied was a tastily furnished apartment, with a broad, low window facing the east. A tall maple tree stretching its branches out toward the window made a lovely shade, and by the window June hung her pretty mocking bird, Ned. For she said that Paul had no other company, and Ned would cheer him so much when he became homesick.
Paul began his work the next day with so much interest and activity that Scott concluded that if he continued as he had begun he had secured a prize. As time wore on Paul conducted himself with so much modesty and natural refinement that Mrs. Wilmer, with all her ideas of caste, could but admire him, and though she had cautioned June to ignore his society altogether, she now consented to allow her to sit in the library with him, always cautioning her not to forget 73 that he was her brother’s hired help, and in no way her equal. June always promised, but some way June always forgot. She did not mean to break her word, but there was a charm in the very atmosphere which surrounded Paul. Every moment that his services were not required for work was spent in useful and careful study. He took advantage of the evening school, and these hours were well improved.
The Wilmer library was a large, airy and beautifully furnished room, well filled with finely bound and instructive volumes. Scott was an extensive reader, and a great portion of his time was spent among his books. He had been studying law, and two years before the present time was admitted to the bar. His keen intellect and the remarkably sound judgment which he possessed for one of his years gave great promise of a brilliant future. His dignified bearing, without ostentation, his eloquence, to which none could listen without feeling the weight of its influence, his honor and strict morality, together with a generous nature, commanded admiration and respect from all. His face, though not strikingly handsome, was very attractive. His hair, a dark auburn, curled loosely around a broad, white brow. His hazel eyes and classical features were of the type that always caused one to take a second look, and the general comment was, “What a fine looking man.” Paul thought so, too, and he was much surprised when he discovered the generosity of his nature, and when told that he could have free access to the library it seemed too much of a treat to be true. He had so often longed for books of the kind which he found there, and he 74 tried to thank Scott, but that gentleman waved his hand in a way that thanks was entirely out of the question.
Paul and June were becoming firmer friends as the days wore on. They sat one day, several weeks after his arrival, in the library. June had entered and found Paul reading, and seeing the book he held in his hand, she said, as she took a seat near him:
“Oh, Paul, I should think you would just suit mama.”
“Why,” he asked.