"For Pennsylvania, it's very sudden, isn't it?"
"Yes; he had bad news last night, sickness in the family I believe, that hurried him off in great haste. He called to bid us good-bye, but found no one but me.
"But you will be more surprised to hear that Lyttleton left town last night in obedience to a summons from England. He, too, called and left his adieus for you and Nell."
Mrs. Lamar faced round upon the major a face full of astonishment, not wholly unmixed with disappointment and vexation.
"Gone!" she cried, "actually gone for good! I must say, Percy, that I am completely out of patience with Nell."
"With Nell, pray what has she to do with it?"
"She has rejected him. I suspected it before; now I am sure of it. News from England indeed!" and she turned away with a contemptuous sniff.
"Possibly you are correct in your conjecture," the major remarked, recovering from the surprise her words had given him; "but if she has rejected Lyttleton, she had a perfect right to do so, and I am inclined neither to blame her nor to regret her action."
"Why it would have been a splendid match, Percy, and such a chance as she is not likely to see again."
"Not in my opinion. He seems to be wealthy, but I do not admire his character. And it would have robbed me of my little sister, taking her so far away that I could hardly hope to see her again in this world. I should far rather see her the wife of Clendenin."