“Yes; I will ask Hamilton and some of the other fellows to meet you. I want all my friends to see you, Nan.” And as Dick thought of the glory of this introduction, and of the envy of Hamilton and the other fellows, his brow cleared and his old spirits returned.
“I shall think of nothing but my work and those letters, Nan,” were his last words. “I am determined that next summer 349 shall see you my wife.” His voice dropped over the last word almost shyly; but Nan saw a great brightness come into his eyes.
“You must not work too hard,” was all her answer to this, as she moved gently away from him. But her heart beat a little faster at his words. No; she would only have another summer at Glen Cottage. She knew that, and then the new life would lie before them, which she and Dick were to live together.
CHAPTER XLVIII.
MRS. SPARSIT’S POODLE.
While Nan was being fêted and petted at Longmead, Mattie’s visit was dragging heavily to its close. Since the evening of the tea-party things had been more unsatisfactory than ever.
Archie and Grace were a good deal out. Grace was perpetually at the Friary, and Archie had resumed his old habit of dropping in there for a morning or evening chat. Sir Harry came almost daily, and often spent his disengaged hours with them; but Mattie never saw him for a moment alone. Grace was always in the room, and his conversation was chiefly addressed to her. When Mattie dropped sadly out of the talk, or sat silent in her corner, he did not in his old kind fashion try to include her in the conversation: indeed, he rarely noticed her, except in his brief leave-taking. It hurt Mattie inexpressibly to be thus ignored by her old friend, for from the first his cordiality had had a sunshiny influence over her,—he had been so good to her, so thoughtful for her comfort, before Grace came; but now he seemed to forget sometimes that such a person as Mattie even existed. Was it because Grace’s fair, serious face had bewitched him, or was there anything on his mind? for more than once Mattie thought he seemed absent and ill at ease.
Mattie could not understand it at all. She was not a very acute little person, neither was she over-sensitive by nature, but this sudden coldness on Sir Harry’s part was wounding and perplexing in the extreme. Had she done anything to offend him? Mattie wondered, or was he simply bored by her as most people were?