"I suppose there is news of Maurice? You have not sent me any."
"He found his grandfather ill, and in great want of some one of his own family about him; but not, I fancy, at all likely to die. He is slightly paralysed and unable to move without help, or to amuse himself in any way. Poor Maurice seems to have no easy life as far as I can judge."
"Did his grandfather receive him kindly?"
"Very much so, he says. Maurice is like his mother, and that pleased the old man greatly. He introduced him to everybody as his heir."
"Instead of saying 'Poor Maurice,' you ought to say 'Lucky Maurice.' His head will be quite turned."
Mrs. Bellairs smiled. "No fear," she answered. "His heart is in Canada still, and that will keep his head steady."
"What does he say to this move of the Costellos?"
"How can he say anything? It is not three weeks since your marriage, and they knew nothing of it themselves then."
"True, I forgot. I feel as if I had been married a year."
"Not complimentary to the Doctor, if his company is what has made the time seem so long."