“Can you understand it?” she asked.
“No, Aunt Sophy.”
“Has Pen told you anything?”
“No.”
“We must not question her further just now,” said Miss Tredgold. “She will explain things in the morning, perhaps. Why did the children go to the White Bay—a forbidden place to every child in the neighborhood? And how did Pauline know that they were there? The mystery thickens. It annoys me very much.”
Verena said nothing, but her eyes slowly filled with tears.
“My dear,” said Miss Tredgold suddenly, “I thought it right this afternoon to send your father a telegram. He may arrive in the morning, or some time to-morrow; there is no saying.”
“Oh, I’m sure he will come if he remembers,” said Verena.
“That’s just it, Renny. How long will he remember? Sometimes I think he has a fossil inside of him instead of a heart. But there! I must not abuse him to you, my dear.”
“He is really a most loving father,” said Verena; “that is, when he remembers. Why he should forget everything puzzles me a good deal; still, I cannot forget that he is my father.”