“Lord Francis is, then, reconciled to his wife?”
“Oh, yes! Why should he not be? The unfortunate affair of Count de Mürger’s death really, redounds to her credit, and what preceded it was only a foolish misunderstanding!”
“Of course if Lord Francis is satisfied, no one has a right to demur at his decision. You come from him, you say?”
“Yes. He asked me to fetch Ronny home for him. He would have come himself, but he had no time. Here is his card, which he begged me to present to you, with a thousand thanks for your kindness to his child.”
Mrs. Grandison hardly knew what to do. She disliked delivering Ronny into the charge of a stranger, and yet she felt she had no right to keep the boy against his parents’ wishes. She kept turning the card over and over in her hands as she considered the matter.
“Did you say they sailed to-morrow?” she asked, presently.
“Yes, to-morrow, at four in the afternoon.”
“It is a very sudden resolution.”
“Not at all. They have contemplated it for weeks past, but Lady Francis’ health has prevented them carrying it out. Now they have a sudden opportunity of which they wish to avail themselves. How long will it take to get Ronny ready to go back with me?”
“Oh, that can be done in half an hour. But I wish my brother, who put him in my charge, had written me word that his parents wished to resume their guardianship.”