“So I was until six weeks ago,” the young man answered, smiling. “I only arrived in New York this morning. Aren’t you a little bit glad to see me?” And greatly to Gretel’s surprise, this tall, good-looking young gentleman, bent down and kissed her.
“Yes, oh, yes,” she stammered; “I’m very glad to see you, only—only—” And all at once, without having the least idea why, she suddenly began to cry again.
“Don’t be a baby, Gretel,” remonstrated Ada, laughing. “If you act like this your brother will think you are sorry to see him instead of being glad.”
But Mr. Douane did not seem in the least offended. He gave Gretel’s shoulder a friendly pat, and smiled such a kind, understanding smile, that the little girl’s heart went out to him as it had not done to any one since the happy days in the studio.
The evening that followed was so wonderful that for the time Gretel almost forgot her trouble in astonishment. Her brother did not talk very much to her, but he made her sit beside him on the sofa, and all the time he was talking to Mrs. Marsh and Ada he kept casting kindly glances at his little sister. She was almost too shy to answer when he did speak to her, but he seemed to understand when Mrs. Marsh reproved her for not telling her brother what a delightful surprise he had given her, for he interrupted that lady quite sharply, with the comforting assurance—
“Oh, Gretel’s all right. We understand each other, don’t we, little girl?” To which Gretel’s only answer was a rather tremulous smile.
But all the time she was saying over and over to herself—
“He’s the handsomest, splendidest young gentleman I’ve ever seen; I think he must look like the prince in Cinderella, and he’s really my own brother.”
It really seemed almost too wonderful to be true. Hitherto she had only thought of this half-brother of hers as of some faraway benefactor, who had sent Mrs. Marsh the money for her board and education, but who was not at all likely to trouble himself very much more about her. And now here he was, sitting in Mrs. Marsh’s parlor, apparently taking it as quite a natural state of affairs that he should have come all the way home from China, in less than six weeks, and suddenly dropped down in their midst.
Mrs. Marsh insisted that the visitor should remain to dinner.