Dorothy held out her hand with her frank smile. 'I have been wishing to see you, to thank you for your great goodness to my father and to me,' she said. 'It was kind of you to come.'
'It was Janet—my sister—sent me. She said I ought to come now. I should never have thought of such a thing if it had not been for her.'
'I am glad you came,' she answered. She looked very white and small in her black gown, and her face was grave and sad. The steady straightforward look and smile, however, were not the least changed.
She pushed a chair towards Master Caleb, but he did not seem to see it, and she remained standing too.
'Mistress Dorothy,' he began again, clearing his throat vehemently, 'dear Mistress Dorothy, forgive me for asking you—what are you going to do?'
She hesitated a little, and then said quietly, 'I do not quite know yet. I have been thinking about it, but as yet I have not made up my mind.'
'I thought perhaps I might ask,' went on Master Caleb, 'because'—he made a short stop here, and I heard my own heart beating—'because you know you are your father's daughter.'
She smiled then—smiled and sighed too.
'You are always very kind to me,' she said. 'When I have thought of what I had better do, I shall like to tell you, and I know that you will help me.'
'There's but little I can do,' he said bluntly, and then came another silence. He was gathering together all his strength, and she stood waiting for him to speak.