"You do!" said the young man, tossing his head with a slight laugh.
"Thank you!"
"But you have grown," she pursued, contemplating him with great admiration. "And have not I grown tall?"
She stood back blushingly to be inspected.
"You're a pretty fair height," Dick said with an air of moderation.
"Come, they're waiting for us. Is this your pony?"
He lifted her to the saddle, then stepped into the carriage, and she rode alongside. He looked at her, and every nerve in him vibrated with triumph. She wore his cross on her bosom! They had not thought how much he had dared to mean by that. "If they let her take the cross, they will let her take me," he had said. If the gift had been refused, he would never have seen Edith again.
"It is most beautiful," she said, catching his glance. "I got Father Rasle to bless it, and I wear it all the time."
Presently Edith began to take notice of Mrs. Williams; and as she looked, her wonder grew. Mrs. Rowan had possessed only a wisp of faded hair: Mrs. Williams had a profuse and shining chevelure. Mrs. Rowan's teeth had been few and far between: Mrs. Williams's smile disclosed two unbroken and immaculate rows of ivory. But for the lingering lines in the forehead, and the kind eyes, and the simple ways, Edith would scarcely have recognized her old friend.
It was time for an early dinner when they reached the house, and Edith was to stay all day, and be hostess. It had been agreed that, under the circumstances, no hospitable cares could be expected from their host. His visitors were to use his house as a hotel, and do quite as they pleased in it. But in the afternoon, Major Cleaveland insisted that Mr. Rowan should go with him and call upon Hester, who wished to thank him without delay for the pretty present he had sent her. Dick would much have preferred remaining where he was; but he went, and was received with the utmost cordiality by all but Carl, who was not visible.