Mrs. Courtney had forwarded Hilda’s last letter to her brother Valentine, and had not expected to write so soon again; but having called to see Hilda the evening of her arrival, she could not forbear writing to him as soon as she reached home telling him of the unexpected call which had brought the young girl to Dorton, and speaking warmly of her beauty and the sweet dignity of her manner.
The day following that in which Jerusha Flint had been placed in her resting place in Dorton churchyard, Mrs. Merryman went with Hilda to visit the cottage abandoned by Diana Strong.
Following the rule adopted at the commencement of her occupancy, of renting by the year and paying in advance, Jerusha Flint, though in her grave, held, in a manner, possession of the cottage, so all remained as she had left it until Hilda could consult with Mrs. Warfield through the medium of letters.
With the exception of the desk, and a few small articles, there was nothing that she cared to keep; yet as all there was bequeathed to her by Mrs. Ashley, she did not wish to act unadvisedly.
The main object of her visit was to examine the writing desk in search of the papers and the ruby inlaid pen of which Jerusha had spoken.
“I wrote a letter to you with it, but did not send it, as Mr. Merryman, who called, said a telegram would be better,” Diana Strong had told her the day she came. “I laid the pen back in the desk and while standing at the gate talking to Mr. Merryman I saw Jerusha rise from her bed, totter the few steps to the desk, lock it and put the key under the pillow where we found it.”
All searching for the papers was vain, but Hilda never passed the cottage that she did not examine the desk, believing there was a secret drawer that was baffling her search.
Her walks to “My Lady’s Manor” were resumed, to the delight of Mrs. MacQuoid and Chloe, who made it a rule to have the library warm and bright when Hilda came.
Sometimes she remained only long enough to exchange books, but they had seen her, she had chatted with them, had petted the terrier, exchanged some words with Sandy and left all cheered by the visit.
One afternoon she extended her walk to Dorton post-office, intending to call at “My Lady’s Manor” upon her return in order to get a volume which an adverse and scathing criticism had tempted her to read.