She flounced down the steps, followed by the man, who was becoming a puzzle. He gave his hand to Miss Loring, who accepted that assistance from the horse block, and then he stepped aside that the embrace feminine might have no obstacle in its path.
“My dear little girl,” and the mistress of Loringwood kissed her guest with decided fondness. “How good of you to come at once––and Mrs. Nesbitt, too? I’m sorry you had to wait even a little while for a welcome, but I just had to ride over to the quarters, and then to the far fields. Thank you, doctor, for playing host.”
“Doctor?” gasped Evilena, gripping Miss Loring’s arm. There was a moment of hesitation on the part of all three, when she said, reproachfully, looking at the smiling stranger, “Then it was you all the time?”
“Was there no one here to introduce you?” asked Miss Loring, looking from one to the other. “This is Dr. Delavan, dear, and this, doctor, is Kenneth’s sister.”
“Thanks. I recognized her at once, and I trust you will forgive me for not introducing myself sooner, mademoiselle, but––well, we had so many other more interesting things to speak of.”
Evilena glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, and with her arm about Gertrude walked in silence up the steps. She wanted time to think over what awful things she had said to him, not an easy thing to do, for Evilena said too many things to remember them all.
Margeret was in the hall. Evilena wondered by what occult messages she learned when any one ascended those front steps. She took Miss Loring’s riding hat and gloves.
“Mistress Nesbitt is just resting,” she said, in those soft even tones. “She left word to call her soon as you got back––she’d come down.”
“I’ll go up and see her,” decided Miss Loring. “Will you excuse us, doctor? And Margeret, have Chloe get us a bit of lunch. We are all a little tired, and it is a long time till supper.”