“He’ll understand,” thought Sibyl; “he’s wonderful for seeing right through a thing, and he’ll quite know what I mean by the ‘heart of the rose,’” and she kissed the rose passionately and put it inside the letter, and nurse directed the letter for her, and it was dropped into the pillar-box that same night.
The letter was not read by the one it was intended for until—but that refers to another part of the story.
CHAPTER XII.
The next day was a glorious one, and Lady Helen, Mr. Rochester, Mrs. Ogilvie, and Sibyl all met at Victoria Station in time to catch the 11.20 train to Richmond, the nearest station to Silverbel. There a carriage was to meet them, to take them to the house. They were to lunch at a small inn close by, and afterwards have a row on the river; altogether a very delightful day was planned.
It was now the heart of a glorious summer—such a summer as does not often visit England. The sky was cloudless; the sun shone, but the great heat was tempered by a soft, delicious breeze.
Sibyl, all in white, with a white shady hat making her little face even more lovely than usual, stood by her mother’s side, close to a first-class carriage, to await the arrival of the other two.
Lady Helen and Rochester were seen walking slowly down the platform. Sibyl gave one of her gleeful shouts, and ran to meet them.