Brandon sat deep in thought, and glad to hear Valentine breathing so quietly, when the first solemn approaches of dawn appeared in the east; and as he turned to notice the change, Valentine woke, and gazed out also among the ghostly trees.
"There he is," said Valentine, in his usual tone of voice.
"Who is?" asked Brandon.
"My father—don't you see him walking among the trees? He came to see my uncle—I told you so!"
Brandon was inexpressibly startled. He leaned neared, and looked into
Valentine's wide-open eyes, in which was no sign of fear or wonder.
"Why, you are half asleep, you have been dreaming," he presently said, in a reassuring tone. "Wake up, now; see how fast the morning dawns."
Valentine made him no answer, but he looked as usual. There was nothing to bespeak increased illness till he spoke again, faintly and fast—"Dorothea—did he bring Dorothea?"
Giles then perceived with alarm that he was not conscious of his presence—took no notice of his answer. He leaned down with sudden and eager affright, and heard Valentine murmur—"I thought he would have let me kiss her once before I went away."
Brandon started from his knees by Valentine's bed as this last faint utterance reached him, and rushed up-stairs to his wife's room with all the speed he could command.
Oh, so fast asleep! her long hair loose on the pillow. How fair she looked, and how serene, in her dimpled, child-like beauty!