Alas! the time sped all too quickly for me, though by every one else on board our arrival in London was hailed with unmixed relief. The Prince and Princess Michaelow went to the Hôtel Metropole until they could complete their arrangements for residing in a home of their own furnishing. Their cousin, Sergius, went with them for a time.
Mr. and Mrs. Karniak, Feo, myself and Trischl were soon located in Kensington again, being fortunate in securing a very nicely furnished house pro tem. I was not sure that madame’s financial position was such now as warranted my remaining with her, but I hardly knew how to introduce the question of my departure. It relieved my embarrassment considerably when madame, having probably partially gauged my feelings, spoke to me one morning about Feo’s future.
“I find,” she said, “that Feo shows considerable facility for learning languages. She is so young yet that she may safely postpone a good many of the ordinary branches of her education, and she is getting on so well with her French and German that I hope you will not leave us for some time. To lose you would be a serious break in my child’s education, and I hope you know how anxious I am to retain your companionship, especially as Victor has much traveling to do before his financial affairs are all satisfactorily arranged.”
“Surely he is not going to Russia again?” I exclaimed.
“No, not to Russia, but to South America. He has money invested in shares there, and is also concerned in some California speculations. For some time he has foreseen that it would be as well to invest his capital out of Russia. But his agents have been rather lax, and he is going to inspect both nitrate beds and gold mines, in order that he may realize his legitimate profit on them. This will take him many months, and we want you to promise that you will stay with me at least until he comes back. Both Feo and I need you.”
Stay with them! As if it were a favor on my part, too! Put in that way, the request certainly surprised me.
“Stay with you!” I said gratefully. “I shall only be too happy to do so. Where else have I to go to, since my own father declines to welcome me?”
Madame had a knack of being tantalizingly mysterious at times, and I puzzled my head for some time to unravel the meaning of the curious smile with which she greeted my last question. But my immediate future was now arranged for, at all events, and the least I could do in return for madame’s kindness was to set about my duties, light as they were, with all my heart and all my soul.
Meanwhile, I felt anxious to learn how things fared with Lady Elizabeth. At times, when I remembered the mysterious nature of the illness from which she was suffering when I last saw her, I almost feared the worst. Then my naturally hopeful temper reasserted itself, and I reflected that she would now in all probability be quickly recovering her normal strength in the bracing air of Moorbye, whither my family would be sure to have returned ere this.
And Jerry! Dear little Jerry! How ardently I longed to see him. He would be spending his holidays at home now, and I wondered if he had made such progress with his French as he seemed to anticipate before he left us. What a long time it seemed since father and I, both with such light hearts, had seen him leave our little station in the care of the tutor. And what a round of events had taken place since then. I had suffered much, and felt years older, although the last few weeks seemed to have softened my regrets for the past in a wonderful degree.