“I shall be in London again soon, and may I beg the privilege of coming to see you occasionally?” he asked, as he was taking leave of the two ladies.
“Yes, indeed, we shall be very glad to see you, Mr. Hamilton,” Mrs. Alexander rejoined, cordially, while Virgie blushed with pleasure at the request, and a shy smile dimpled the corners of her pretty mouth. “But,” she added, “you have not yet told us whither you are going—in what portion of England is your home.”
“I have no home really, as yet, Mrs. Alexander, but I have friends in Hampshire County, and I am going to them for a while,” Rupert replied.
As was his custom, he seldom talked about himself, and this was the first intimation that Mrs. Alexander had received of his having friends in Hampshire, where Sir William lived.
She grew a trifle pale as he mentioned the fact, and longed to ask him if he knew the baronet; but she checked herself, and they separated without a suspicion on her part of his being in any way connected with the man whom she had come to England to seek.
Mr. Knight had given her letters of introduction to some friends of his residing in Grosvenor square, and, upon seeking them, she found them to be most delightful people.
Sir Humphrey Huntington and his family occupied a high social position in London, and thus had it in their power to make it very pleasant for any one in whom they were interested.
They tried to persuade Mrs. Alexander to come to them as their guest, instead of remaining in lodgings; but she preferred, for various reasons, to be independent, although she compromised the matter somewhat by frequently allowing Virgie to visit Sir Humphrey’s two daughters, who were about her own age.
And now there began a charmed life for Virgie Alexander, as, for the present, we must continue to call her, since her mother did not wish her to be introduced by the name of Heath until she could be assured that she would succeed in having her acknowledged as the heiress of Heathdale.
As soon as she was sufficiently rested, Mrs. Alexander intended to consult with some good lawyer and give her interests into his care; but, meanwhile, she was willing that her darling should enjoy to the utmost the pleasures at hand.