“No, auntie, dear,” she repeated, “I’d rather stay here.”
“It seems a pity,” said her aunt, as she slowly folded up the letter. “Levinside is such a pretty place, and Miss Verity’s house has such a pretty name, ‘Dove’s Nest,’ doesn’t that tempt you, Mary?”
Mary looked up quickly, “Dove’s Nest” was very pretty, but another name had caught her attention more sharply, through her memory rather than her fancy.
“Levinside,” she repeated, “Dove’s Nest at Levinside.”
“Yes,” said her aunt, “close to Levin Forest. You have heard of Levin Forest?”
Mary did not reply directly, but her aunt saw that her cheeks grew pink.
“May I see the letter again, please, auntie?” she said, and again her aunt unfolded it and handed it to her.
She did not look at the written part this time. Her eyes were fixed on the prettily engraved address at the top, printed in a rather peculiar shade of green—
“Dove’s Nest, Levinside.”
Then after gazing at it for a moment or two, she handed the sheet back to her aunt.