And then she said, with a smile:
"But I hope you will not carry my dear girl away from me when you are married. This house is large enough for us all."
Thinking that he was poor, she wished to make the future as easy for him as possible.
But Hawthorne answered:
"I thank you for your generosity, but I have a home in England, and a widowed mother awaiting me."
"I do not understand," she said, wonderingly.
Just then Geraldine and Cissy came in, with the two children, who were enjoying the freedom of having no governess at present.
Mrs. Fitzgerald called Geraldine to her side, kissed her beautiful brow, and said:
"I have just given you away, my darling, to your worthy lover."
Geraldine blushed deeply, as Hawthorne drew her to his side and said: