“Should you like to, Sweetheart?”
He had never adopted the new name by which others called her. Like Tom Hinton, he found it pleasant to say Sweetheart, and his tone in pronouncing it was very tender.
She was obliged to own the truth. She was most anxious to ride horseback.
“Then I shall teach you,” said her guardian. “We will begin to-morrow. You shall accompany me in my morning canter.”
CHAPTER XXXVII.
The next morning a box was sent to Thea’s room, and on opening it she found a beautiful riding-habit of dark-blue cloth and a cap to match. To her surprise, it fitted exactly, and in the pretty little watch-pocket she found a card:
“To My Little Sister.”
A momentary cloud came over the radiant face, and Thea sighed as she murmured:
“Sister!”
Evidently she had not become reconciled to bearing that relation toward Norman de Vere.