"Oh, yes; hale and hearty and well-to-do, and would be glad to have you for a guest. I think it would be a very good thing for you."
"And the Duchess?"
"I mentioned the matter to her and she agreed with me that it would be a sensible move, though she disliked losing your company. But she is not one to think of herself."
"That she is not," said I. "She is a most sweet creature. She shows the truth of what dear Margaret used to say, that it is not wealth nor the want thereof that spoils people, but the spirit in which they take it."
"Then you will like to go out to Holworthy farm?" said my aunt.
"Indeed I shall," I answered, and the Duchess coming in (as indeed she was used to visit me every day), the matter was settled.
"I must visit Mrs. Patience before I go," said I. "How is the dear old lady?"
"Why well," answered Mrs. Curtis, but there was something in her tone that made me ask at once:
"Is she dead?"
"Even so," answered Mistress Curtis, solemnly; "but do not weep for her, dear Loveday. She passed in the greatest peace and joy that was ever seen. She told Master Walter, who prayed often beside her, that you had taught her the true way of peace, and had comforted her concerning the great sorrow of her life."