There were many reasons for the sojourn at “My Lady’s Manor” being pleasant to Mrs. Warfield, not the least of which was having Fred so near, a lawyer in good position, popular in society as he had been in Springfield, and, as was characteristic, falling in love with every beautiful face new to him.
Mr. Courtney invited him frequently to pass the night with them, taking him back to his office in the morning; and Fred thought, as had Hilda years before, that nothing was more enjoyable than the drive in a luxurious carriage drawn by a span of handsome, spirited horses.
Then Mrs. Warfield was always happy in the company of children, and believed that no better or handsomer boy could be found than the small Valentine; and the dainty blue-eyed darling—Sarah Warfield Courtney—was, in her eyes, the perfection of infantile beauty and excellence.
Another tie which bound her to Hilda and Hilda’s home was the articles which had belonged to Mrs. Ashley; and she passed some time each day in the room containing them; relics hallowed by the touch of the lovely and beloved young sister.
She loved the neighborhood of Dorton and its people; she and Mrs. Carl Courtney were congenial in every way, were members of the same denomination, and although both were too broad-minded to be rigidly sectarian, it was a dear tie that attached them to each other.
Her visit, however, was nearly finished, and she was making preparations to return to Springfield, when she received a letter from Mrs. Lura, eminently characteristic of that managing little matron. It read:
“Dear Mother—I think you will be surprised to hear of a change made in our household arrangements. Father has always been lonely since I married and left him, and it occurred to me that it would save me much time and trouble going back and forth if I could have him with us. So he has given up the parsonage, and as he has always been accustomed to a large front room with southern exposure, and where sunlight comes in freely, I have given him yours, which, being just across the hall from Paul’s and mine, I think suits him well, and I am sure you should be satisfied with the one back of it, as Angie tells me you used it the summer that Mrs. Lacy and two other visitors were at the farmhouse, so you must have preferred it.
“Believing that you cannot fail in agreeing to this, I remain
“Your affectionate daughter,
“Lura Warfield.”
After receiving this epistle it appeared to be a suitable time for Mr. and Mrs. Courtney to again urge their loved friend to remain with them, and as that letter seemed to be the only thing required to make her decide, she agreed to stay.
They all had occasion to rejoice that she had thus decided, for the next week after she had appointed to go to Ohio, little Valentine was ill of scarlet fever, and Mrs. Warfield, who loved the boy as if he were of her own flesh and blood, was, next to Hilda, his devoted nurse.
“’Pears like ter me, Kitty,” said Andy one morning when the dangerous symptoms were at their height, “dat Marse Val didn’t seem chipper dis mornin’ when he com’d over to see Marse Carl an’ Mis’ Emma; has yer took notice to it, Kitty?”