Fleda did not answer. Mrs. Carleton sat a few minutes thoughtfully drawing back the curls from her forehead, Mr. Carleton's very gesture, but not by any means with his fingers; and musing, perhaps, on the possibility of a hood's having very little to do with what it covered.
"Do you know," she said, "I have felt as if I were nearer to
Guy since I have seen you."
The quick smile and colour that answered this, both very bright, wrought in Mrs. Carleton an instant recollection that her son was very apt to be right in his judgments, and that probably the present case might prove him so. The hand which had played with Fleda's hair was put round her waist, very affectionately, and Mrs. Carleton drew near her.
"I am sure we shall love each other, Fleda," she said.
It was said like Fleda, not like Mrs. Carleton, and answered as simply. Fleda had gained her place. Her head was in Mrs. Carleton's neck, and welcomed there.
"At least I am sure I shall love you," said the lady, kissing her; "and I don't despair on my own account for somebody else's sake."
"No," said Fleda, but she was not fluent to-day. She sat up and repeated, "I have not forgotten old times either, Mrs. Carleton."
"I don't want to think of the old time I want to think of the new," she seemed to have a great fancy for stroking back those curls of hair; "I want to tell you how happy I am, dear Fleda."
Fleda did not say whether she was happy or unhappy, and her look might have been taken for dubious. She kept her eyes on the ground, while Mrs. Carleton drew the hair off from her flushing cheeks, and considered the face laid bare to her view; and thought it was a fair face a very presentable face delicate and lovely a face that she would have no reason to be ashamed of, even by her son's side. Her speech was not precisely to that effect.
"You know now why I have come upon you at such a time. I need not ask pardon. I felt that I should be hardly discharging my commission if I did not see you till you arrived in New York. My wishes I could have made to wait, but not my trust. So I came."