“Our old mother brought us up,” she said. “I cannot tell how good she was to Charles and me, and what it cost us not to be rich enough to help her.”
“Margaret,” said Dr. Charles, “Lady Mary cannot care to hear all this about you and me.”
“Oh, pray go on, I am so much interested,” said Lady Mary.
“For we have never been rich, never anything but poor,” said Margaret, suddenly lifting her beautiful eyes, and thus giving double effect to the acknowledgment; while her brother fretted a little, and moved on his chair with impatience of her frankness.
“We have been able to make our way,” he said, in an under-tone.
“You see, I have always been a drag on him, I and my little girl,” she went on, with a soft sigh, “so that he was not able to help when he wanted to help. And then Mr. Earnshaw came in, and did all, and more than all, that Charles could have hoped to do. For this we can never think too highly of him, never be grateful enough.”
“It was what any fellow would have done,” interrupted Harry, putting his head forward. He did not know what he was saying. And Lady Mary, suddenly looking at him, took fright.
“Thank you so much for telling me this,” she said, rising. “I am so glad to hear another good thing of Mr. Earnshaw who is one of my first favourites. For his sake you must let me know if there is anything I can do to make you comfortable. Harry, it is time for us to go; it will be quite dark in the avenue. Pardon me, Dr. Murray, but I don’t know your sister’s name; foolishly, I never thought to ask?”
“Mrs. Smith,” said Dr. Charles, as they both got up, filling the little dark room with their tall figures. Harry did not know how he made his exit. One moment, it seemed to him he was surrounded with an atmosphere of light and sadness from those wonderful blue eyes, and the next he was driving along the darkling road, with the sound of the wheels and the ponies’ hoofs ringing all about him, and unsympathetic laughter breaking from under Lady Mary’s veil by his side.
“Mrs. Smith!” she cried; “what a prodigious anti-climax! It was all I could do to keep my gravity till I got outside. That wonderful creature with such eyes, and her pretty plaintive voice. It is too absurd. Mrs. Smith!”