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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/36880-8.txt b/36880-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d0c5434 --- /dev/null +++ b/36880-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4711 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Niece Catherine, by Mary Hampden + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Niece Catherine + +Author: Mary Hampden + +Release Date: July 28, 2011 [EBook #36880] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NIECE CATHERINE *** + + + + +Produced by Delphine Lettaum, Mary Meehan and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + + NIECE CATHERINE + + By MARY HAMPDEN + +AUTHOR OF 'ALISON'S AMBITION' 'THE GIRL WITH A TALENT' 'STRANGER +MARGARET' ETC. + + + LONDON + THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY + 56 PATERNOSTER ROW AND + 65 ST PAUL'S CHURCHYARD + + BUTLER & TANNER, + THE SELWOOD PRINTING WORKS + FROME, AND LONDON. + + + + +[Illustration] + + + + +Contents + + +CHAPTER I. THE HEROINE + +CHAPTER II. UNCLE ROSS + +CHAPTER III. UNCLE JACK + +CHAPTER IV. CATHERINE'S RESOLUTION + +CHAPTER V. AN UNSHAKEN RESOLUTION + +CHAPTER VI. A SUNDAY'S EXPERIENCES + +CHAPTER VII. A RAY OF LIGHT + +CHAPTER VIII. THE COMING OF CATHERINE'S BETROTHED + +CHAPTER IX. AN IMPORTANT OFFER + +CHAPTER X. THE UNEXPECTED HAPPENS + +CHAPTER XI. CONFIDENCES AND AN ATTEMPT + +CHAPTER XII. GOOD-BYE + +CHAPTER XIII. THE FATE OF A LETTER + +CHAPTER XIV. CATHERINE'S APPEAL + +CHAPTER XV. AS GOD WILLED + + + + +CHAPTER I + +The Heroine + + +'Catherine!--_Catherine!_' + +Mrs. Arderne stood at the foot of the staircase, looking upward, and +calling her companion. Though her voice sounded impatient there was an +amused smile on her face, because she could hear merry laughter from the +night-nursery, where 'Catherine' was helping nurse to put Ted and Toddie +into bed. + +The last call produced the effect desired. A tall slim young woman came +running downstairs, explaining and apologising. + +'Oh, I am really very sorry! Have you been trying to make me hear? I +didn't know that you were calling, not until a minute ago; and then Ted +was on my lap, and made himself _so_ heavy when I tried to lift him back +into his cot!' + +'You spoil my children.' + +The mother was still smiling. Catherine laughed aloud, and very +musically, the laugh of a girl to whom people had always been kind. + +'If you seriously meant that accusation, Mrs. Arderne, I should have to +try to prove my innocence; but as I am sure you didn't, I will only tell +you what a darling Ted has been to-night. He said his hymn right +through, and afterwards composed a dear little prayer for "mother's +wicked headache to be taken right away." Now could I refuse to tell him +about _Jack and the Beanstalk_ after that?' + +Catherine was trying to smooth back her brown hair with her hands as she +spoke, for several curly locks were fluttering round her equally brown +eyes, Toddie having 'rumpled dear Carr's head all up,' as the little +girl herself would have expressed it. + +'Kiss the tiny fellow "good-night" for me, dear,' said Mrs. Arderne, +leading the way into the villa drawing-room. 'I called you down that you +might fasten this flower in my dress, your fingers are so deft.' + +After having performed the task Catherine stood back a few paces to +survey the effect. + +'You look delightful,' she remarked. 'But I'm not certain that it's a +"companion's" place to tell you so!' + +'The remark might be flattery. "Companions" are supposed to flatter.' + +Catherine made a grimace. This was a bad habit she had, a trick copied +unconsciously from her boy cousins in Melbourne. + +'I won't ever be a first-rate "companion" then. Mrs. Arderne, it was +tremendously good of you to take me, to give me a home, and a salary. +Until I came to England I hadn't the least idea how ignorant, and +peculiar, and--and--and independent a creature I am!' + +'You were just going to use a stronger term of opprobrium!' + +'Yes, dreadful slang. I checked myself for once, just because I am in +real earnest. Oh, I _am_ grateful to you! I want to learn to be of use +to you,--to repay some of your goodness to me; please teach me to be a +satisfactory companion in every way but that of flattery!' + +There were tears sparkling in the brown eyes now, and a sweet pleading +expression on the whole face. Mrs. Arderne, being a woman of the world, +did not show how much she was touched, and answered laughingly,-- + +'Catherine, you are beautiful! Why did you spoil all my best plans for +you by getting engaged to Brian North?' + +A series of dimples played round the girl's lips. She put her hands +behind her back, dropped a curtsey, after the manner of charity children +before a benefactress, and blushed. + +'Please, ma'am, I think it was because--I love him.' + +'Romantic nonsense! My dear, you could as easily have loved another man. +Mr. North is not a paragon of every virtue and charm. He happened to +love you, and so, soft-heartedly, you tried to pay him back for love, +just as you want to pay me back because I offered you a home when you +were in want of one.' + +'You didn't try to patronise me. You came to me, and spoke like the dear +true woman you are, as a sister might have spoken; and you burdened +yourself, or rather let me burden you, with an untrained, wild, +hot-tempered girl, an individual who knew simply nothing of etiquette, +whose manners were all learned in the Bush! That is a gentle description +of me,--you know it is! And I don't believe you needed a companion at +all!' + +'I have learned to appreciate the advantages of possessing one, then. +But seriously, Catherine, have you no expectations at all? Who is this +uncle, who lives in this neighbourhood, to whom you were writing this +afternoon?' + +'Uncle Ross, or Uncle Jack--which do you mean? I wrote to them both. Oh, +Uncle Ross, I suppose, for he is the elder. He is Ross Carmichael, Esq., +of Carm Hall, Beverbridge, and he used to be very nice to me when I was +a child. He and Uncle Jack came out to Australia once, years ago, before +they quarrelled, and I have written to them every Christmas ever +since.... Uncle Jack was quite a darling!' + +'Why did they quarrel?' + +'About an adopted nephew, named Loring Carmichael, whom they both loved. +Uncle Ross wanted to make a business man of him; Uncle Jack wished him +to go into the army. I never heard quite the rights of the matter, for +I never met Loring, though my Melbourne cousins knew him well; in fact, +one of them was in Egypt at the time he was. He became a soldier, but +only a "private," for he enlisted; he left home hoping that his absence +would heal the feud between his uncles.' + +'Whereabouts _is_ Carm Hall?' + +'I asked the stationmaster when we arrived this afternoon, and he said, +"It's four miles straight up the road from Woodley Villa, miss." So I +shall walk up to see my uncles to-morrow morning, with your consent. +Four miles are nothing!' + +'Since they have quarrelled, they maybe living in different places, not +in the old home.' + +'Oh, I hope not. The stationmaster said "Yes," when I asked if they were +both well. He looked as though he wanted to talk a lot about them, but +of course I could not allow him to gossip about my own relatives.' + +'But is the adopted nephew dead? There is the "fly" at the door, and I +must go, but I want to find out first what expectations you have, my +dear. Tell me, in a few words!' + +Catherine's face was quite grave now. + +'Yes, he died in battle, in the third year after he left home. Uncle +Ross means to leave all his fortune to charities, and Uncle Jack never +had any money to speak of, so my "expectations" are _nil_, Mrs. Arderne, +dear. I shall earn my own living until Brian can afford to get married. +If uncle's intentions had not been fully explained to me in one of his +own letters, I should not have expected any part of his fortune, for my +Melbourne cousins are nearer kin to him than I.... Now let me help you +on with your cloak.... Wasn't it wonderful that you should have taken a +furnished house in this very neighbourhood?' + +'I've many friends here, you see. After to-night you must come out with +me, child. A little gaiety will do you good.' + +The expressive face lit up with smiles again, as Catherine cried,-- + +'How kind you are! But please, please, don't worry over me. I believe +you are often quite unhappy for my sake, just because my stepfather +squandered all my money. Dear Mrs. Arderne, _money doesn't matter_, it +really doesn't. If I were delicate, unable to earn my living, I might +merit pity, but not as I am. Why, I've never been ill in my life, and +I'm _so_ happy always, that it's not the least bit of a wonder that I +feel I must thank God every minute for all His goodness to me!' + +Mrs. Arderne gave an impatient shrug, and hastily kissed her companion's +rosy cheeks. + +'Child, you are rather ridiculous sometimes. There, good-night. That +"fly" has been at the door five minutes, and I shall be late for Mrs. +Dumbarton's dance.' + +Catherine ran out into the hall to wave a hand as her employer and +friend was driven away, then went upstairs again to peep at the +children, to whom she was devotedly attached. Six-year-old Ted was +slumbering quite peacefully, his usually mischievous expression having +given place to a seraphic smile. As the girl bent above him he laughed +in his sleep, so she dared not linger by his side, lest he might wake to +clamour for the history of _Jack and the Beanstalk_ all over again. + +Passing into the inner room, she found 'Toddie' (otherwise Nora) +likewise wrapped in slumber, and not in danger of being disturbed by a +kiss. Toddie was a very calm, sensible little person, a model of +deportment and good conduct, compared with that enchanting rebel Ted, +who was but one year her junior. + +Presently Catherine stole away, into the sanctum of her bedroom; and +there, kneeling on the hearth, with her hands stretched out to the +blaze of a glorious fire, she gave herself up to pleasant thoughts, many +of which were connected with the portrait of Brian North, which occupied +the place of honour on the mantelpiece. + +It was a fine photograph. The keen eyes looked straight out at the +observer, with an earnestness of gaze betokening earnestness of purpose. +The features and contour of the face were both delicate and strong; and +the mouth, sensitive as well as resolute, was shadowed, not hidden, by +the dark moustache. + +This young man was an intellectual worker--a journalist by profession, +an author by predilection--and already the dark hair over his brow was +streaked with grey, though he was only thirty. + +From her kneeling posture on the rug Catherine, looking up at the +portrait, mentally apostrophized it. + +'My dear, hard-working old boy! Mrs. Arderne wonders why I accepted the +offer you made me--why I valued it! She thinks I could have loved any +one else just as well! Isn't it wonderful how dense the nicest people +are sometimes? Ah, yes, even _you_, dear!' + +At this point in her meditation Catherine's eyes saddened. + +'You are dense on the greatest subject of all. Do you guess how much I +pray God to _make you see_? If I were not so sure that you, being you, +must grow wise before long, must shake off the contagion of the world's +indifference, your want of faith would be enough to do away with all the +happiness I have been boasting about. But you will soon learn, Brian +dear; you will let my persuasion rouse you. God must love you so well +that He will surely show the beauty of His love to you.' + +Brian North had been brought up by a father who had taught him to feel +scorn for that profession of religion which so many men make without +ruling life by it--the empty show of faith in God without any attempt +to serve Him. No mother had ever shown Brian the truth of +Christianity--since his birth he had been motherless. The clever lad had +always admired his father, and had willingly been led by him. In early +life he had even been proud of doubting that which the majority of men +believe. + +Of late years, indeed, as his intellect had ripened, he had begun to +perceive the folly of unbelief--had come to see that religion, pure and +honest, is for every man the matter of supreme importance, and that +faith, though dishonoured by some hypocrites, remains the chief glory in +a glorious world. But, until Catherine Carmichael had talked to him of +these subjects, he had tried to put them out of his thoughts, to imagine +that he had not been specially 'called' to the leading of that Christian +life which he owned was a noble one. + +His hours were spent in business struggles; his times of leisure were +few, and he always brought to them a brain wearied by money-earning, +and, often, the despondency of baffled ambitions. + +His Heavenly Father had now indeed 'called' to him by the voice of the +woman of his love, and well might she hope for great things from his +faith, when it was once thoroughly aroused. + +To-night nearly all her thoughts were of Brian, of his needs. She could +scarcely spare one reflection for the matter which Mrs. Arderne +considered all-important--the possible reception which rich Uncle Ross +might give her. When she remembered the two old men, it was to feel +pleasantly sure of their affection, not to long for a share in the +fortune of the elder. + +Her heart was full of tenderness to-night, and it was partly because she +was so earnestly sorry for Brian, who did not possess her secret of +happiness, that she let him monopolize her thoughts to such a degree. + +It was not his lack of money of which she was thinking when she prayed, +'O God, make my dear boy rich! He is so poor and needy, while I can +never thank Thee enough for the gifts Thou hast lavished upon me. No one +can be content without Thee, my God.' + +And long before Mrs. Arderne returned from the dance Catherine was +sleeping soundly and peacefully, like Ted with the smile on his lips. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +Uncle Ross + + +Ross Carmichael, Esq., of Carm Hall, Beverbridge, was not a punctual +person at the best of times, but on this particular morning he was the +cause of his servants' despair, for never had he been so late in coming +down to breakfast. The cook had begged the footman to let her have back +the bacon to 'hot up,' but he had replied that he dared not remove the +dish from the table: 'Master might come down any minute now, and it +would never do for him to have to wait while the dish was carried +upstairs again.' + +Now Mr. Carmichael had never been known to lose his temper with a +servant, so their alarmed anxiety would have appeared ridiculous to any +one ignorant of the peculiar awe that old gentleman inspired. He never +scolded harshly, nor raised his voice in remonstrance, but his reproof +would have been sarcasm, and the memory of the fault would have lingered +for days in his mind. His expression was severe generally; only those +persons who had not been so unfortunate as to offend him nearly always +found out that his face did not do his heart justice. + +A man of prejudices, and keen, though controlled passions, was Ross +Carmichael, very self-sufficient, and terribly unwilling to forgive or +forget the smallest injury. + +This morning, however, he did not mind whether his bacon were well or +ill-cooked, hot or cold, and the fact that one egg was boiled too hard +quite escaped his attention. + +His 'Good-morning, James,' was spoken as usual, then he sat down to the +breakfast-table and ate the habitual meal in silence. James began to +grow anxious about his master. He was not often so taciturn. At the end +of a quarter of an hour the man ventured to inquire whether his master +felt the room cold and would like a fire. + +Mr. Carmichael lifted his eyes from his plate (fine, dark eyes they +were, in striking contrast to the bent white brows above them), checked +a desire to frown at the interruption to his reflections, and answered: + +'No, James, thank you. A fire? You know I never have one lit in this +room until October. This is only September.' + +'Yes, sir; but unusually cold to-day is.' + +Mr. Carmichael returned to his breakfast and meditation. In a few +seconds, however, he looked up again and smiled. + +'Do you remember that it was in September, ten years ago, that we +returned from Australia, you and I, James?' + +'Yes, sir, that I do. It was a capital journey, so we was told, but the +sea was a deal too playful for my tastes.' + +'Tut, tut; the sea was smooth--perfectly smooth--most of the time. You +will not have forgotten the "station" then, the homestead, and little +Miss Catherine?' + +'The young lady as used to ride better than most men do over here, sir? +It was a sight, and no mistake, to see her clearing the paling round +that place they called the Gum Paddock--and she not more than fourteen +or fifteen, or thereabouts.' + +'I never gossip,' said the old gentleman, after another pause. + +'No, sir; of course not.' + +'I had a reason when I spoke about the journey to and from Australia, +and the "homestead" where I stayed, You have served me tolerably well, +and I am sure loyally, to the best of your ability for so long now, +James, that I feel able to talk to you as I would to none of your +fellow-servants.' + +'I'm sure I hope so, sir,' cried the man, sorely puzzled, and not a +little hurt by the dictatorial and patronising tone of his master. + +His chagrined look touched Mr. Carmichael's heart. + +'Why, certainly, James; I regard you as a proved friend. Don't look as +though I had called you a murderer. We've faced perils together, +and--and----' + +Suddenly the 'squire' discovered that he was speaking strangely after +the manner of his brother (Catherine's Uncle Jack), and this surprising +fact made him break down altogether in his speech. The question to which +he had been gently leading up, in order not to surprise James into +feeling curious about it, burst without any warning from his lips. + +'Do you think Miss Catherine liked me--was fond of me--in those days, +James?' + +'Indeed, yes, sir; why, she was for ever talking about her uncles.' + +'AH! but _which_ did she prefer?' + +'Which uncle, sir?' + +'Yes. It was her Uncle John, was it not, James?' + +'Mr. Jack, sir? Well, she was certainly remarkably attached to him, but +then so she was to you, sir, and she seemed able to do anything she +liked with you, sir, and it's not many people that could be said of.' + +The squire pondered the answer, until he chuckled over it. The chuckle +ended with a sigh, though. + +Rising from the table, he drew a letter from his pocket and said +shortly: + +'Wrongly addressed; send Newton at once with it. And, James, after all +you may light the fire here, and another in the drawing-room, for I +expect Miss Catherine to see me this morning.' + +James gave a start of surprise. Before he had recovered from his +amazement sufficiently to reply, the squire had left the room, and was +shut up in the library. + +'"Miss Catherine" coming to Carm Hall! Why, "Miss Catherine" must be +quite grown up by this time!' + +Then James read the address on the letter in his hand: + + 'COLONEL J. CARMICHAEL, + + CARM HALL, + + BEVERBRIDGE.' + + 'Poor Mr. Jack! She reckoned he would be still here, in the old + home!' sighed the man to himself, as he hurried away to send Newton + at once with the missive. 'Strange, too, as the postman didn't know + better than to deliver his letter here; but no doubt he only looked + at the address, that's plain enough,--and where _he_ ought to be + too!' + +The elder Mr. Carmichael was not studying in the library. His +account-books lay untouched on his secretary-table; his morning papers +were not cut yet; the huge volumes of reference stood upright on the +shelves. He was sitting in his 'office-chair' before the desk, and there +was a lot of business correspondence awaiting his attention; but he was +only reading and re-reading the letter from his niece Catherine. + + 'WOODLEY COTTAGE, + + 'BEVERBRIDGE. + + 'MY DEAR UNCLE ROSS,-- + + 'I am coming to see you to-morrow morning--a few hours after you + will receive this! Since I wrote to you, last Christmas, my worldly + circumstances have undergone such a tremendous change that I am + obliged to earn my own living; for which fact many kind-hearted, + well-meaning folk have pitied me. _I wonder why_ they think me so + unfortunate? At the homestead I worked fifty times harder than my + duties as Mrs. Arderne's companion oblige me to do now; and, after + all, work is happiness, when God sanctions it. You shall hear no + grumbles from me, I promise you! My stepfather is not dead, only + bankrupt, and the station has passed into other hands. Mother's + money, the little fortune she left me, has vanished, and Alice is + married. Mrs. Arderne offered me a home just when I found myself + without one. The dear kind soul has no real need of a "companion," + so I tell her often; yet, as she does not wish me to leave her, I + feel justified in remaining under her roof. _This_ is a hired roof, + by-the-bye, uncle--a furnished villa, taken for six months, because + she has friends in the neighbourhood. Is it not a splendid + opportunity for me to see you both again? It is ten years since we + last met, when I rode with you as far as the boundary-rider's hut + on the Curra Paddock. We said good-bye at Wattle Creek, do you + recollect? Uncle Jack, seeing that I was nearly crying, tried to + cheer me by inviting me to Beverbridge for next Christmas; but I + went home in tears, because I knew I shouldn't be allowed to go to + England all by myself. Yet here I am--ten years later! I'm grown up + now, though; not "little Catherine" any longer! + + 'My pen has been running on, while I ought to have reserved all my + news to tell you to-morrow, when I see you again; and I have not + been able to resist writing to Uncle Jack as well as to you. + + 'Good-bye again, dear uncle, for a very short time now. + + 'Your affectionate niece, + + 'CATHERINE CARMICHAEL.' + +'Ha!--couldn't resist writing to "Uncle Jack" as well!' + +The squire sighed and frowned as he pondered this admission. + +Ten minutes later the library door behind him opened and shut, and he +was startled by a voice which cried: + +'Uncle, you didn't want me to wait ceremoniously in the drawing-room, +did you?' + +'Bless my soul, it is you, Catherine!' + +The girl let both her hands remain in his grasp, and stood facing him, +smiling, scrutinizing his face eagerly. + +'Yes, Catherine at twenty-five instead of fifteen! _You_ look very +little older, only your beard has turned quite white!... How is Uncle +Jack? Shall I see any difference in him? Is he as upright as ever?' + +'He--I--I really do not know, my dear.' + +'_Not know?_ Oh, you mean that people who are always together are easily +deceived on such points.' + +'No, I did not, Catherine. It is three years since your Uncle John and I +were always together!' + +'Your own, only brother! Perhaps he is abroad, serving his Queen and +country?' + +'He lives in Beverbridge still, but not here. Your letter has been sent +on to him by one of my servants, though I might reasonably have returned +it to Jenkins, the postman, who should have known his business better +than to have delivered it wrongly. Now come into the drawing-room, my +dear; there is a fire there.' + +'Please let us stay here. You look at home in this room. The +drawing-room will be a chilly-looking place, I know, in spite of the +fire.' + +Mr. Carmichael's gaze softened as it rested on the merry pleading face. + +'Still the same roguish young lady, Catherine? Bent on having your own +way, even in trivial matters! Ah, well, you _ought_ to have it, if it +doesn't spoil you.' + +'That latter sentence was an after-thought, uncle! Thank you! Remember, +I am not a spoilt child of fortune any longer, but poor Miss Carmichael, +the companion!' + +Her hearty laugh was not echoed by her relative. In his opinion the loss +of money was a great evil,--a few years earlier he would have been +disposed to think it the greatest possible, only he was beginning to +realize that riches are less powerful than is usually supposed. +Catherine, being quick to note changes of expression in those dear to +her, cried suddenly: + +'Uncle! you are sorry for me!' + +'Is that so remarkable, my dear?' + +'Perhaps not, only I--I regret it. Why should you worry over my case, +when it does not in the least distress me? If I were _very_ rich, I +should worry about the responsibility of such a stewardship, for fear I +might not make the best use of it, and so disappoint God.' + +Mr. Carmichael smiled involuntarily. + +'You have an extraordinarily familiar way of speaking of God!' + +'Because I used the words "disappoint God"? Does He not yearn over +sinners? Did Christ not weep over Jerusalem? Are we not told, "Ye have +wearied the Lord with your words"? If you, uncle, had showered love and +wonderful gifts upon a creature who cast away the affection and the +help, would not you be disappointed?... Oh, forgive me! My +thoughtlessness has hurt you! I--I forgot Loring!' + +Her penitence was very real, and tears had come into her eyes. She felt +desperately angry with herself for having reminded Uncle Ross of the +nephew who had run away to be a soldier. + +'Loring certainly disappointed me--he has left my home lonely; and you +are right in supposing that I prefer not to speak of him.' The old man's +brow had contracted with a frown, which deepened as he went on speaking. +'While we are upon the subject, Catherine, let me remind you that, had +not Loring despised money, as you seem to do, he would not have behaved +badly to me. I consider that men and women ought to desire and respect +wealth.' + +It was the office-chair in which Catherine was sitting. She swung it +round, that she might face her uncle, who was standing beside her, and +impulsively laid her hand on his, as she answered: + +'It is difficult to be quite frank with you, yet sincerity is always +best, isn't it? I don't despise money,--indeed, I do desire it,--at +least I should like more than I have, because--because I am engaged to a +very poor hard-working man, and we shall not be able to marry until his +circumstances have improved.' + +'Engaged, Catherine?' + +She blushed and nodded. + +'But please let me make my explanation first,--I will tell you all about +_him_ presently. Some one suggested to me that--that some people might +suppose that I--expected help from you, or--or----Oh, _please_ +understand, uncle dear, without any more explaining!' + +'Some one suggested that the pretty niece was going to see a rich old +uncle who would probably make her his heiress,--was that it? In this +cynical world motives are generally misjudged, my dear girl.' + +'I told the person (it was not Brian) that my Melbourne cousins were +nearer kin to you than I,--I am only a stepniece, though we have the +same surname,--and also that you have resolved to leave your fortune to +charities, as you told me by letter. All the same, I was foolishly +nervous lest you might misunderstand me; so I assured you, too bluntly, +that I am quite happy with Mrs. Arderne, and enjoy earning my own +living.' + +The frown had gone from the squire's brow. It was with a serene smile +that he asked, pressing Catherine's hand: + +'And I may believe without undue vanity, that you wanted to see the old +uncle again for his own sake?' + +'Yes; yes, indeed!' + +'Now tell me about this Brian. Is he worthy of you?' + +'Of course he is!' + +'That reply was expected.' + +'You mustn't tease me, if you want to hear about my first and last +romance!' + +Catherine was not used to speaking much about herself, so it was the +relation of Brian North's merits, talents, and history which she told +Uncle Ross, rather than the story of how she had learned to love this +man to whom her promise was plighted. + +The squire paid most attention to the description of Brian's abilities; +in fact, the moneyed gentleman was trying to calculate the author's +worth by estimating his possible financial success or failure. + +'If the young fellow has tact and imagination, and a practised pen, he +may win you a fortune yet, my dear; but if, as I suspect, he is one of +the large army of obstinate, blind, proud geniuses, then he isn't likely +to be able to offer you a home at all; in which case, I can only trust +you will grow tired of believing in him.' + +Catherine felt that her pleasure in meeting this uncle again was all +gone--dissipated by a few unsympathetic words! Yet, being genuinely fond +of him, and knowing that his worldly wisdom was far more on his lips +than in his heart, she tried to make allowances for him. Still, her +feelings had been really hurt. + +'You would not mistrust him if you knew him, uncle!' she cried eagerly. +'You wouldn't like me to have given him a half-hearted kind of love, +would you? If I didn't believe in him, trust him wholly, I should not +have promised to be his wife.' + +'Girls are too tender-hearted,' said the squire. 'And where their +affections are concerned they are utterly incapable of judgment. I will +try to believe in your impecunious betrothed, Catherine, and soon you +must make him come down to Beverbridge to see me, or rather that I may +see him.... In the meantime we will not discuss him. You will stay and +spend the day with me, of course?' + +'No, I cannot, uncle. I am sorry, but my time is not my own, you know. I +have to be back for lunch at one o'clock.' + +'Then you certainly need not spring up now! Sit down again, and I will +ring for my housekeeper, Mrs. Marlin,--a worthy soul,--to relieve you of +your hat and jacket.' + +'But it is a four-mile walk home, and--I must go to see Uncle Jack.' + +Again the frown came on Mr. Ross Carmichael's brow, and his voice +regained a cynical tone as he replied: + +'You are not likely to find my brother indoors in the morning; I believe +he employs his time in the office of the 3rd Battalion of the Royal +Beverbridge Volunteers. He will not have received your letter yet. If +you can bear to postpone your visit to him until evening, you had better +do so, unless indeed you want to spend some hours alone with Agatha.' + +'Poor Agatha! How is she?' + +'Worse, I believe. A life like that is better ended.' + +'God doesn't think so, that is evident,' said Catherine. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +Uncle Jack + + +Mrs. Arderne made Catherine give a full account of her visit to Uncle +Ross, but wisely refrained from commenting upon the recital, knowing +that her companion would be distressed by any expression of her own firm +opinion that a fortune and a good position were to be had for even less +than the asking. The kindly-natured, worldly woman was quite excited +over Catherine's prospects, though she dared not speak of them. A rich, +lonely old uncle, with no relatives near him but a brother from whom he +was estranged, and that brother's invalid ward, a girl twelve years of +age,--where could Catherine be more sure to find a benevolent patron for +Brian North (if she was resolved to be faithful to her promise to him), +or to whom could she more reasonably look for help in her orphanhood and +poverty? + +But Catherine was such an oddly unpractical, independent young woman +that she absolutely refused to speculate as to her chances! For this +reason, Mrs. Arderne felt positively bound to speculate for her, and to +persuade her to behave to Uncle Ross in a manner likely to please him. +Needless to say, therefore, she strongly disapproved of Catherine's +intention of visiting Uncle Jack on this, her first whole day at +Beverbridge. + +'My dear child, you really ought not to go roaming about the country +after nightfall,' she remonstrated. + +Ted and Toddie had just been sent back to the nursery, after the usual +game of play following upon dessert, and Catherine's cheeks were +flushed, her brown hair rumpled by exercise. She was now seated on a low +stool at Mrs. Arderne's side, smiling up at her confidentially. + +'Why, I simply couldn't get lost on a starlight night,--besides, I have +a compass on my watch-chain! Do you think I relied upon the aid of +street-lamps and sign-posts in Australia? Uncle Jack lives quite near +us, in a bye-lane or street of the village. The postman looked so +pleased just now when I asked him about Colonel John Carmichael! "The +nicest gentleman I ever met, miss," he said. "Quite one of the old sort. +There's no telling the kindnesses he's shown to the poor; not so much +money-giving, for folk do say he isn't well off enough for himself, but +in other ways, that mean more, usually. Oh, that village postman is +quite a philosopher, I assure you!' + +'You delayed Her Majesty's mail while you gossiped with him!' + +Catherine laughed. + +'I forgot that; he didn't seem in any hurry, and I'm sure he enjoyed +telling me about Uncle Jack.' + +Mrs. Arderne reverted to the original subject. + +'I am not at all certain that I shall let you out to-night, Miss +Carmichael.' + +'You--you _don't_ mean that, do you?' + +'Why should you annoy your Uncle Ross, who seems to have been very nice +to you? I am certain he will be vexed by your going at once to seek out +the brother with whom he has quarrelled.' + +'But the right of the quarrel is all on Uncle Jack's side,' said the +girl simply. 'You will understand that when you have met him.' + +'He persuaded Loring Carmichael to rebel against his elder uncle's +authority.' + +'He only talked to him enthusiastically of the army; Uncle Jack, dear +old fellow, never could talk even to me for a quarter of an hour without +mentioning Sebastopol! He is such a thorough, devoted soldier, and he +always abhorred mere money-earning life-occupations!' + +'The world would say that, in persuading his rich brother's adopted son +to rebel, he was probably actuated by money interests himself.' + +Catherine was silent and very grave. This was her habitual manner when +disappointed or grieved. + +Mrs. Arderne bent down to glance at the saddened young face, and +promptly repented for having banished its customary smile. + +'There, I'm sorry I said that! No doubt Mr. Jack is a guileless hero; +but such persons are often tiresome! Go and find him this evening, if +you must, only don't perversely quarrel with the other uncle on his +account,--that other, who has certainly been very badly treated!' + +So, after tea, Catherine set forth at a brisk pace through the village, +smiling to herself all the way so happily that many of the cottagers, +seeing her, smiled too for sympathy. + +Yes, here was the lane, or street rather, of which the postman had told +her, leading out of the old market square. A small white house stood on +the right, planted sideways, within a high wall. There was no proper +entrance to it, only a narrow wooden door, painted green, and inscribed +with the name, Redan Cottage. + +At the sight of that address (which, after the manner of country +dwellers, the postman had omitted to mention, having called the house +'Carmichael's'), Catherine's smile widened, and her heart began to beat +fast in her eagerness. Redan Cottage!--of course that was the name Uncle +Jack _would_ have chosen for his house! + +No sooner had she rung the bell than the door opened as if by magic, and +a rosy-cheeked lad invited her to follow him across a tiny +stone-floored yard, under an ivied porch, and indoors. + +'I am expected!' thought Catherine. + +Indeed, the boy had not paused to ask her name or business, and now +preceded her into a little dark room, with the announcement: + +'Miss Catherine's come at last, please, sir!' + +Uncle Jack had been pacing the room--a short promenade! His niece had +just time to find out how overwhelmingly delighted she was to see him +once again, before he had put his arm round her shoulders and kissed her +cheek, as a father might have done. + +'My darling! What, crying? Oh, it's a long while since we said good-bye +at Wattle Creek, isn't it? I couldn't tell you how often I've wanted my +niece since then. But I believed we should meet again some day, and I've +found out that the times chosen by the Great Commander are always best +and fittest, lassie.' + +'Uncle Jack, why didn't you write oftener to me? Why did you let me +forget even a little bit how good you were to me, and how fond we were +of one another? When you call me "lassie" it all comes back to me. I +used to fancy that my father must have been like you.' + +'An uncle isn't as much good as a father; still, he may be some use. And +you are poor now--your possessions have melted away! We won't call the +absent bad names, lassie, will we? but I always saw "rascal" written on +your stepfather's brow. He couldn't stand fire properly, though he ought +to have been used to it out there. I remember once I held my sword to +his throat, too--to show him how poor Northcote died; and he winced +under it. Still, I won't blame him, since we are the gainers by his +wrong-doing, Agatha and I.' + +'Gainers? How is that?' + +'Because you are coming home, my dear, to live with us. Sit there in +the basket-chair--it was bought for you this morning, for this room was +rather short of chairs--and good old Harriet made the cushions. I verily +believe she went without her dinner that she might get them finished. +Ah, you kept us waiting a long time, lassie! Robert has been in the yard +nearly all day, he was so anxious not to keep you on the doorstep.' + +Catherine sat down in the chair, and could not find words to answer with +all at once. Home! Uncle Jack had taken her consent to his invitation +for granted! _Home!_ And even the postman knew that he 'wasn't well +enough off for himself'! Oh, the dear, true-hearted, generous old man! +And what could she say? She could not bear to hurt his feelings, yet she +must not be a burden upon him. Tears were in her eyes, and it was with +the utmost difficulty that she steadied her voice to thank him. + +'Gratitude? Nonsense, my dear (if I may use such a word to a lady). +Think of the joy your presence will be to us--Agatha, myself, old +Harriet, and even Robert. I haven't been able to resist talking about +you to the servants, and they have been very curious to see you; you +would have laughed at Harriet's endeavour to get a cake made ready to +greet you. She is not the typical, cross housekeeper, resenting +interference. Indeed, she told me to-day that we all need some one to +smarten us up, and that you, "being a travelled young lady," would be +sure to do it!' + +In this way did Colonel Jack talk on, softly patting Catherine's hand, +and trying to give her time to control her evident emotion. + +She understood this, and appreciated it. Soon her eyes began to smile +through her tears, and she cried: + +'You _know_ I am grateful, so I need not speak any more thanks to you; +but oh, Uncle Jack, dear, until you offered me a home I had not realized +the loneliness of being without one. Mrs. Arderne has always been so +kind to me (you remember her, don't you?) that I've never been sorry for +myself while with her, and Uncle Ross's pity this morning only made me +feel more independently cheerful!' + +'So I've taught you to be lonely, lassie?' + +'No; you first made me long for a home, and then you gave me one! I +cannot come to live in it altogether, for I must earn my living--not be +an idle creature, you know; but Redan Cottage is "home" for me from +henceforth--"home," to love, to remember, to dream of, to visit, to +spend my holidays in!' + +Uncle Jack looked troubled. + +'Catherine, you are not--what is commonly called "an advanced woman," +are you? You are not of opinion that women should do all the work in the +world?' + +She laughed. + +'No, indeed! but a penniless young woman certainly should support +herself, if she is able to do so. Dearest of uncles, don't you think +that, by coming "home" to subsist upon the income which keeps up this +establishment, I should be defrauding Agatha, if not you?' + +'The poor child would receive benefits that no money could buy her: your +love and care--and counsel, especially counsel.' + +'Whose counsel can be better than yours?' + +There was a shake of the white head. + +'I'm a beginner in Christianity, Catherine,' said the colonel +thoughtfully. 'In my youth I wasn't taught much about God, and then my +ambitions and enthusiasm for the service left me no time, so I imagined, +for other than military studies. Naturally, when my comrades were +falling around me, I prayed, for them and for myself, if I were about to +fall too; still, I knew next to nothing of the Lord whose help I asked. +Lately I _have_ been studying the Bible, and I'm honestly ashamed of my +purposeless past. Every time I pray I make the best excuse I can to the +Creator, by assuring Him that had I been so fortunate as to know Him +earlier, I would have served Him as loyally as, thanks be to Him, I have +always served my Queen.' + +Catherine's smile was very tender as she looked at the colonel's +reverential face. + +'God must quite understand you!' + +'Do you think so? You used to talk of Him in the old days, I recollect, +but I regarded your piety as a mere part of a gentle girl's +sentiments--as a sort of beautiful romance unsuitable for men to share. +Dear, what a fool I was, Catherine (if you will excuse the strong +expression)!' + +'You are God's own soldier now, dear uncle. I am glad indeed. Nothing is +equal to the peace of serving Him who died for us.' + +'Ah, what a soldier He was!--the Great Commander is the title I like +best to give Him. You will teach me all you know about Him, will you +not, my child?' + +Catherine's fingers returned the pressure of his hand. + +'We will teach each other, Uncle Jack. And even when we are absent one +from another we shall know that we are both looking in the same +direction, towards the glory of the Prince of Peace and the King of +Battles.' + +'If you _must_ earn your living, lassie!' + +'It seems to be a clear duty. I will never stay away from home out of +pride, or because I do not like to take favours from you, you may be +quite sure of that. And if Brian could only find employment in this +neighbourhood, oh, how glad I should be! He is not very strong, his +health would be so much better in the country, and he would have quiet +hours in which to write.... Oh, I forget--you don't know about Brian +yet!' + +'Your bright face tells your secret, lassie. Tell me you love him, and +that he loves you with all his heart, and then I shall be quite +satisfied!' + +'Yes, to both those questions! He is a poor, hard-working journalist, +earning a bare livelihood for himself.' + +'That doesn't matter; his love will give him courage to work on for you, +and God will reward him some day!' + +'He does not call God "Father" yet; his mind is only just groping nearer +to the Light; his heart has not yet been taken captive by the Lord.' + +'You will teach him, as I want to be taught. God will help you.' + +'Uncle Jack, you are the dearest consoler and encourager possible! Brian +shall love you almost as well as I do! He shall come to see you very, +very soon! Uncle Ross wants to see him too; isn't it strange?' + +'Surely not strange, lassie. He would naturally be interested. If my +brother offers you a home with him--what then? You will be standing in +your own light if you refuse. He is a rich man; Carm Hall is more fitted +than this cottage to be your shelter. You mustn't allow any--any +affection for me to--to influence you in this matter.' + +Yet, bravely though the colonel was looking this possibility in the +face, nobly though he was anxious for Catherine's welfare rather than +for his own pleasure, the contemplation of his vision of what might be, +cast a shadow into his eyes. Watching him, Catherine learned how +sincerely he wanted her. + +Though a most unworldly young woman (as Mrs. Arderne had often told +her), she could not help understanding that she had made a choice which +most people would blame and ridicule. She had promised always to regard +Redan Cottage as home. Though she honestly believed that Uncle Ross +would keep to his intention of leaving his wealth to be divided among +charities, she could not deny that he might offer her, and even her +husband, a home during his lifetime--possibly a small portion of his +fortune might be set aside for them. + +Yet, as she had said, she believed 'the right of the quarrel to be on +Uncle Jack's side,' and never could she deny this belief. + +The result of her short reflection was that she said happily, 'I have +got a home now, and I prefer it to any other at present existing in all +the world, dear colonel!' + +'Then my duty is done! I need never again try to persuade you to desert +me, lassie! And if Brian is vexed with me----' + +'But he won't be.' + +'No doubt you can answer for him, so I won't trouble over any +supposition! Ross does not need you, as Agatha does. He is a good man, +in his own way; Heaven forbid I should judge him harshly, but he would +not be grateful for being taught religion.' + +'My choice is made, uncle dear, and you may be sure I shall never, never +regret it!' + +'God bless you, lassie!' + +The old gentleman bent his lips to his niece's hand, and they were both +silent for a minute or two, gazing into the fire. Then he said: + +'I must take you to Agatha now; the poor little maid will be wearying +for you.' + +So Catherine was led out of the tiny parlour, across the hall of this +doll's house of a cottage, past the open door of the kitchen, where old +Harriet and Robert were waiting to catch a glimpse of her as she passed, +and into another room as wee as the parlour, where bright pictures, pink +curtains and upholstery generally, and the presence of flowers, +betokened the colonel's fatherly care for his adopted ward. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +Catherine's Resolution + + +Agatha had been an invalid all her short life. Suffering had made her +fretful and terribly nervous, especially of death, which she always +imagined to be coming soon to her. She was not at all resigned to her +lot, nor anxious to learn resignation, unless to escape the punishment +that she feared must be the result of rebellion. + +A more unhappy, self-tormenting child could scarcely exist. + +Directly Catherine caught sight of the piteous-looking countenance, with +its great dark passionate eyes, her heart went out to Agatha. + +The little girl was lying flat on a wheel-couch before the fire, with +her face turned away from the warmth, towards the door of the room. +There were tears on her cheeks; she had been indulging in a stormy fit +of crying because she had been, as the colonel had surmised, wearying +for the coming of Catherine. + +'You might have come to me sooner!' + +These were her first words. + +Bending to kiss her--a greeting that was warmly returned--Catherine +answered: + +'It is such a long while since I saw Uncle Jack that it was excusable +for us to have a great deal to say to one another, wasn't it? Don't +scold me on the very first evening of our acquaintance, Agatha, for you +and I will be friends soon, I hope. It is very nice of you to be anxious +to share your home with me, dear. I cannot come to live here, but I +shall pay you frequent visits, and spend my holidays with you both.' + +'You won't come altogether?' + +'I cannot give up my work.' + +Agatha laughed bitterly, and shrugged her shoulders with the gesture of +a spoiled child. + +'I suppose you're afraid of offending our enemy! Guardian, don't look +cross with me because I said that! He _is_ our enemy, if he isn't more +willing to make up the quarrel than you say he is. Miss Carmichael, +you'll be very silly if you don't take Uncle Ross's side of the dispute, +not ours! Being poor, and living in a tiny cottage, and having to be +economical, _is_ so horrid!' + +The colonel showed no sign of being cross; there was only an expression +of perplexity in the gaze he bent upon his ward. + +'Now, dearie, do not try to shock Catherine--she will not understand, as +I do, that you never mean one half the shocking things you say.' + +'Oh, guardian, I can't be polite to her, just as though she were a +stranger, for I'm much too glad she's come. Catherine, if you make Uncle +Ross adopt you, I suppose you'll be cutting us out, spoiling any chances +we may have, you know, but I don't mind that a bit, and you can see +guardian doesn't. Will you promise _always_ to remember that? I _would_ +like the quarrel to be made up, just so that we went back to Carm Hail +to live, but that's all! I don't want any one to leave money to us, +because----Oh, never mind about why. Only say you won't misunderstand +when I grumble! I want _you_ most of all; if you'd come and live here, +it wouldn't be as dull, and it's only the dulness that matters much.' + +This extraordinary series of sentences was delivered in a jerky, +half-shy, half-reckless fashion, and Agatha's glance remained fixed on +Catherine's face. + +Stroking the child's thin cheek, Miss Carmichael asked playfully: + +'Don't you know that you would have to be still more economical if I +came to live here, dear?' + +To her amazement Agatha burst into tears. + +'There! you will misunderstand me! I only mind economy because I'm +miserable often, and dull, and frightened. Now you've forced me to tell +the truth, and guardian's feelings will be hurt. Oh, I'm always doing +wrong somehow!' + +Catherine sat down on the edge of the couch, and laid her face on the +tumbled mass of brown curls. + +'You little goose! I was half in fun. I do believe that you want me to +come; only I can't, so you must be content to have me sometimes.' + +The sobs still continued. + +Uncle Jack smiled wistfully at his niece, shook his head with a puzzled +air, and stole out of the room, wisely thinking that the two girls, of +ages so different, would arrive sooner at mutual understanding if they +were left alone together. + +Catherine refrained from asking for an explanation of the sobs, and +presently Agatha raised a tear-strewn face out of the pillows, and +nestling her cheek against her new friend's arm, said penitently: + +'I'm sorry I'm such a little beast. My ideas are all in a muddle, so +that it's impossible for me to make you understand what I mean. And I +was trying to be diplomatic, and you've no notion how difficult that is +when one's head is always aching!' + +'Poor little woman! But why want to be diplomatic? Simplicity is true, +noble and best. Your guardian has a simple heart.' + +'I am going to _try_ to make you understand, Catherine!' cried Agatha +resolutely. 'Ever since guardian adopted me I've heard praises of +you--of your courage, and sincerity, and beauty, and talents--until +you've become a sort of _ideal_ to me. Do you see?' + +'A very poor basis to found an ideal upon!' laughed Catherine. + +'I know all about your Australian life--how you found out when the +stockman (Jock was his name, wasn't it?) was being cruel to the cattle, +and you told your stepfather about him, in spite of his threats of +revenge. I've made a map of the station, and guardian marked the +paddock-fence where your pony threw you when you were a child, and you +called to your mother that you were "all right," though your leg was +broken! I know how you used to spend your time, working for poor people, +and trying to make the awful rough men kinder to their wives and +children--and teaching the children about God and reading the Bible to +invalids. Oh, you're a very satisfactory ideal, I assure you!' + +Catherine's face was one bright blush at this enthusiastic commendation. +She was about to protest against it, but Agatha went on eagerly: + +'Don't contradict, please don't, for it's all true. I told you about it, +so that you might leave off being surprised at my wanting you so much. +You _can't_ seem like a stranger. I made up my mind to love you, long +before I guessed you'd come to England, so when your letter came this +morning I went just wild with delight. Guardian said at once that you +would live with us, and then I thought how beautiful life would be. +There was nothing but happiness in my mind until then.' + +She paused, frowning at the consideration of what came afterwards. + +'Go on, dear,' said Catherine encouragingly. + +'Then I found out that my wishes were all in a muddle too. Living in a +cottage _is_ so tedious! There's nothing to see, and nothing to do. +Guardian's out a great deal, busy over the volunteers, and there's no +one but Robert to help Harriet, so he can't be spared often to wheel my +chair. I do most dreadfully want to go back to Carm Hall to live, to +have nice food, and pretty rooms, and money to buy presents, and--oh, +and everything I used to have! Now, I suppose, you think me horrid and +mean!' + +'No, dearie.' + +'Uncle Ross--I always called him that, you know--won't make the first +advance, so the quarrel won't ever be made up unless guardian tries to +do it. He would if he wasn't so proud, for he's very unhappy about being +at war with a brother. You should just hear him pray about it every +morning and night,--for we've family prayers now, with Harriet and +Robert,--his voice often shakes, and on Uncle Ross's birthday the +prayers are ever so long. At Christmas, and Easter, and any +home-anniversary, he is just wretched, Catherine. Yet he is too proud to +be persuaded to make any more advances.' + +'Any _more_?' repeated Miss Carmichael, questioningly. + +'Yes, he made lots at first. He used to write, until Uncle Ross refused +to open any more letters; he sent congratulations to him on his +birthday, until that message came back unread; he always spoke on +Sundays in the churchyard, until once, when it was the anniversary of +Loring's going away, and through a chance word the quarrel got as bad as +ever again; and now Uncle Ross always passes us by with a stiff bow. Oh, +guardian is in the right, only he's unhappy, and Uncle Ross isn't. +Catherine, I scarcely know _what_ I want! that is the truth! I should +hate for uncle to adopt you, because that would take you away from us; +yet I almost began to hope that your coming would patch up the feud +somehow. Can't you be peacemaker?' + +'I will do everything in my power to promote peace, dear.' + +'Yet by choosing this cottage for "home" you'll offend Uncle Ross +bitterly. It'll be like Loring's choice all over again!--between Carm +Hall and riches, and guardian and poverty. For it was his love for +guardian that made Loring want to be a soldier. Dear Loring! He was +always so good to me! Catherine, most people would call your choice +dreadfully silly!' + +Catherine was aware of this, but her brave spirit was quite undaunted by +the reflection. The choice had been offered her suddenly, between +hurting Uncle Jack's feelings and accepting the home he had so lovingly +offered her; and as her heart had dictated, so had she acted. In +gratitude and affection had the choice been made. Now, far from +regretting it, she had become aware of many strong reasons in its +favour. + +To begin with, it gave her the chance to be Uncle Jack's confidante, +even in a humble way his helper, in religious questions; it provided her +with freedom which she could use in trying to heal the quarrel between +her uncles; it offered her a new task and duty, that of helping poor, +fretful, ignorant, passionate Agatha to find peace in the thought of +Jesus Christ. + +Had Catherine remained homeless, she could have done, perhaps, much of +the work she was already yearning to perform, but Uncle Ross might have +doubted her perfect sincerity. Now she could not be suspected of +mercenary motives in trying to influence him. Had she waited until he +had offered her a home at Carm Hall, which might have happened, she +would either have been obliged to offend him by refusing, or probably +would have been forbidden to visit Redan Cottage. No!--though the world +might ridicule her unselfish choice, she was proud and glad of it! + +For Brian North's sake it was natural that she should momentarily regret +the lost chance of Uncle Ross's help for him; but she was perfectly +sincere in the hearty words by which she assured Agatha that, though +her choice might be ridiculed by some, she was yet both determined and +happy in it. + +The girl clung to her, and protested both against her resolution to stay +with Mrs. Arderne and her obligation to return now to Woodley Villa. But +Catherine was firm. + +'You'll come again to-morrow, won't you?' + +'If I possibly can, darling.' + +'Oh, I want you so badly! I think you'll help me not to be so miserable. +I'm _very_ ill, you know; the pain's often bad, and then I think I'm +going to die at once, and--and if I _did_, I'm certain I shouldn't--go +to heaven.' + +'_Agatha!_' + +With attempted bravado Agatha laughed. + +'No, of course I shouldn't! I'm beastly selfish, and I've never done +anything but _think_ grumbles at God. I'm not resigned a bit,--not meek +and humble of heart,--I don't see why I should be.' + +'Don't you? Have you never thought about the debt we sinners owe to the +Son of the Heavenly Father, who died upon the cross for us, that we +might become entitled to the glorious eternity of heavenly life?' + +'But God made me,--crippled, useless, invalided as I am!' + +'But, dearie, suppose some great physician came to tell you that you +must suffer and be helpless for one short hour, and that then you would +recover your health and strength for eighty or ninety years, would you +not bless his name?' + +'Of course I would!' + +'And supposing that the physician had obtained your cure through making +some colossal sacrifice himself as a propitiation?' + +'Catherine--you--you mean that Christ is the Great Physician!' + +'Yes, dear. When from the eternal heavens you look back upon your life +of pain and weariness on earth, it will seem but as a fleeting hour, and +you will wonder why you couldn't understand God's loving promises better +while you lived,--why you grumbled at the moments of suffering which His +compassion sent you to purify your soul from sin, to prevent your caring +too much for the things of this earth. Why, Agatha, don't we despise a +little child who cries and storms about some momentary, necessary pain? +Yet we all of us behave just as weakly before the eyes of our Father.' + +'But I shan't ever get to heaven. I'm not good.' + +'Jesus came on earth to save sinners. Remember how we are told, "The +Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will +rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over +thee with singing." Tell me, is that a picture of a cruel God? of One +who does not feel for the weakness and perversity of human nature? Oh, +my dearie, think over those three words only, "He will save," and offer +Him your heart, with all its imperfect longings. He is the Saviour who +"pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by transgression," who "retaineth not +His anger for ever, because He delighteth in mercy."' + +Agatha's dark eyes gazed wonderingly at Catherine's sweet, smiling face. + +'I--I will think about Him,' she whispered after a pause. 'But, oh, do +come again to-morrow if you can. Guardian doesn't talk about God as +clearly as you do; he's groping after Him still, Catherine, but you +speak and look just as though you'd been to heaven yourself, and seen +Him face to face!' + +'So may we all see Him, dear,--in the blessings of earth, in daisies, +and sunsets, and storms; in love, and humility, and suffering. For +heaven is where He is, and He is everywhere! I shall pray that you may +receive Him into your heart, and so make heaven there, little Agatha.' + + + + +CHAPTER V + +An Unshaken Resolution + + +When Catherine ran up the steps of the villa on her return that night, +she caught sight of Mrs. Arderne's anxious eyes peeping through a front +window at her, and the door was quickly opened by that lady herself. + +'My dear girl, I have been worrying about you! How dark it is outside!' + +'I am not late for supper, am I?' + +'No. I only worried because you were out alone in the darkness.' + +'You dear soul! It was very kind of you, but there was nothing at all +terrible to be met with in this peaceful English village! The poorer +people are all out now, shopping for to-morrow--it is Saturday night, +you know. There! I don't believe that a companion ought to call her +employer "You dear soul." Why don't you scold me when I forget our new +relation to one another?' + +Mrs. Arderne patted Catherine's rosy cheek, and taking her arm led her +into the sitting-room, where supper was spread for two. + +'Because I do not wish you to be a bit different, child, except in the +way of having more worldly wisdom in your private affairs. I hoped that +your impecunious Uncle Jack would disappoint you, and his ward prove a +captious, annoying, spoiled invalid, instead of which he has evidently +pleased you so well that even Miss Agatha has not been able to put you +out of spirits.' + +'Poor little Agatha!--indeed, she too pleased me!' + +Mrs. Arderne sighed. + +'It is a disappointment to _me_, I assure you, to see you come back +wearing that radiant face!' + +'They have been so good to me! And the night air is deliciously cold, +and I'm as hungry as a hunter! I must be an expensive companion, for I +eat so much, don't I?' + +'Not a morsel more than a healthy girl should. Satisfy your appetite, +Catherine; then we will sit round the fire while you give me an honest +account of your visit to Redan Cottage.' + +So, when the servant had cleared away, the two friends began a cosy +chat, the younger seated as usual on a low stool, leaning her right arm +on the elder's knee. + +It was a joy to Catherine, this description of her visit to her Uncle +Jack and Agatha, for it enabled her to recall the incidents of an +eventful evening, and helped her to understand better both his character +and that of his ward. The more she reflected and spoke, the more did she +see that she had chosen rightly, and Mrs. Arderne's well-meant regrets +only made her own courage and gratitude the stronger. + +After some discussion Mrs. Arderne asked, in bewildered tones: + +'Is it mere preference for one uncle that has made you choose to +sacrifice all your chances, child?' + +'No. There are many, many reasons why I could not have chosen otherwise. +You would not have had me refuse a kind offer, hurt Uncle Jack's +feelings, disappoint Agatha, and deny my own wishes as well, and all for +the sake of a possible financial advantage, would you? Uncle Ross did +not offer me a home at all; and if he had done so, I don't think I could +have accepted it. He would have expected me to share his line of policy +towards Uncle Jack. Besides, I should have felt a mercenary wretch. +Since I am blessed with health and an opportunity to earn my own +living, I ought not to live in idleness and luxury at any relative's +expense. And I should be wrong, were I to accept from one uncle the +wealth which belongs rightly to his nearest relative--the other uncle.' + +'Now I do begin to understand!' cried Mrs. Arderne. 'Your pride +influenced you principally in the making of your choice.' + +Catherine raised her frank eyes to meet the disapproving gaze of her +friend. + +'I don't think it was a bad kind of pride,' she answered simply. 'And I +was only leading up to my biggest reason of all.' + +'Probably that is as absurd as the others, my dear!' + +'I hope you won't try to think lightly of it, dear Mrs. Arderne, for it +is the best and sincerest part of me. It is--my love for God. Uncle Jack +and Agatha are actually in need of help that I can give them, while they +in their turn will help me to lead the higher life, which is the only +worthy one. We shall encourage one another to serve God better.' + +'But you are not going to live at Redan Cottage, thank goodness!' + +'No. I shall only spend most of my spare hours there so long as we are +in the neighbourhood, and all my holidays will pass there, at home. Then +I can write to them very, very often during the times I am away. As a +rule people do not make half enough use of the post. It offers a +splendid means of communication between friends who are parted.' + +'And if you had agreed to live at Carm Hall, you would have been within +five miles of these beloved relatives!' + +'I should have been dependent upon a man who behaves persistently ill to +them. Dear, kind friend, do you not suppose that if Uncle Ross became my +benefactor, to the extent of giving me my daily all, he would not try, +and be more or less justified in expecting, to make me obedient to his +wishes in all important matters? If I let him be as a father to me, +shouldn't I owe him consideration? And "consideration" in his opinion +would mean giving up constant intercourse with those who have offended +him.' + +'But, child, child, your Uncle Jack and Agatha can surely become +religious without your aid, if they desire to.' + +Catherine laughed blithely. + +'Why, of course--only I think that I can help them, and that God means +me to do so. If a poor man asked you for an alms, and you were _sure_ he +was very hungry, you wouldn't refuse to give to him because some one +else might be just as well able to do so. I have had experience in +regard to the destitution of souls that know not God's peace. There is a +spiritual hunger which is worse, far, far worse, both to bear and to +witness, than mere bodily starvation!' + +An impatient sigh escaped Mrs. Arderne's lips. + +'You are an incorrigible zealot, evidently!' + +'I hope so.' + +'At least you will admit that you could be just as religious yourself at +Carm Hall as at Redan Cottage.' + +'Oh yes; but Uncle Ross doesn't like people to be religious. He would +attack my faith daily with sharp little weapons of perfectly courteous +ridicule, and when I repulsed the attack he would be angry at heart with +me.' + +'You could have borne that for Brian's sake, I should have thought, and +you could have told your Uncle Jack to apply for religious instruction +to the proper person, namely, the clergyman of the parish.' + +'Mr. Burnley, if he is still here, could scarcely be expected to spare +time to smooth away all my poor little Agatha's nervous fears and +doubts, even supposing she could be persuaded to tell them to him. Dear +Mrs. Arderne, do not try to destroy my choice, for it is irrevocably +made, and I am very happy in it.' + +'It is full of conceit, Catherine! You imagine you have a solemn mission +from God to convert your heathen relatives.' + +Catherine's face clouded. + +'_Don't, dear!_' she pleaded earnestly. 'Don't try to be bitter or +cynical, for those moods are quite unlike you. I may be conceited, I +daresay I am, about other matters, but not about my knowledge of the +love and mercy of our Saviour. That is a subject upon which I own my +ignorance, for every hour that I live I make some new, beautiful, +blessed discovery in it! But it is certain that God gives to each one of +us some particular duties, some work to be performed to His honour and +glory, and I cannot refuse to do that which seems to me both right and +necessary. You wouldn't really wish me to choose to serve Mammon instead +of God!' + +Mrs. Arderne would not own that she was convinced of Catherine's wisdom, +though she could not advance another argument against the latter's +decision. She contented herself with exclaiming: + +'You are a most disappointing young woman, Catherine!' + +'As a companion, please, ma'am?' asked the culprit, who was genuinely +amused by this description of herself. + +'N-no; disappointing to your friends--to me especially, because I had +set my heart upon seeing you reinstated in a position suited to you, +either by your uncle or by your marriage.' + +'My Brian does not please you?' + +'You will not please him by this last folly.' + +'He isn't a bit mercenary. You will see, he will approve my choice, when +he has read the long letter I mean to write him before breakfast +to-morrow morning. He will sympathise, too, with my great wish, which is +that, with God's help, I may be able to act as peacemaker between my +uncles.' + +'Good gracious, child, I never contemplated that possibility!' + +'Did you not? It will be a difficult task.' + +'So I should imagine.' + +'But if I could but do it, they would all be so much happier! Dear Uncle +Jack frets about the quarrel; he is really attached to his brother. +Uncle Ross is terribly lonely in his big house, with no one to love him. +Then Agatha could have the care and nursing she needs.' + +'And Catherine Carmichael could have----' + +'I don't understand you,' said the girl slowly, trying to read Mrs. +Arderne's meaning in her face. 'I--should lose Redan Cottage for a home. +And--oh, I suppose "home" would be Carm Hall then. How funny!' + +'How ridiculously unpractical you are! A veritable _baby_! This new plan +of yours, Miss Peacemaker, is the one way in which you can make up to +your friends, your lover, and yourself for the folly of your choice! +Reconcile your uncles and go to live with them. Mr. Ross Carmichael will +alter his will, and leave his thousands to you instead of to charities.' + +There was a very mischievous smile playing round Catherine's lips while +she listened to Mrs. Arderne's eagerly explained advice, a smile which +increased as she answered, 'I _am_ glad that you approve of me for +something, and that our wishes coincide for once! I mean to try my very +hardest to bring about that reconciliation; but I shall work for dear +Uncle Jack's sake principally, then for Agatha's, lastly for Uncle +Ross's. And if I am happy enough to succeed, I shall be so glad and +proud that no worldly prospects of my own could possibly make me +happier!' + +'_I_ can be mercenary-minded for you--that is one comfort, child.' + +'It would be nicer if you would not.' + +'Nonsense; you surely aren't so mad that you despise wealth and power?' + +'No; only I hate to calculate about them, and I don't covet them. God +will send me enough daily bread, and that is all that matters.' + +'For the sake of Brian----' + +'Riches and position are not always blessings, dear Mrs. Arderne. We are +told in the Bible, "He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye," "He +that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver," and "How hardly +shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!" Neither for +Brian nor for myself can I covet a stewardship the duties of which we +may not be fitted to perform, which might take from us the best +wealth--God's love.' + +'Of course I cannot say any more, since you have taken to quoting the +Bible, Catherine. My memory for texts was always a bad one.' + +'Ted and Toddie shall not be able to say that when they are grown +up--not unless they wilfully forget all I teach them, and they love +their Scripture lessons too well to do that. Do you know, Toddie told me +yesterday that God seems ever so much _realer_ than other kings? Wasn't +it sweet of her?' + +Mrs. Arderne gave Catherine's brow a quick kiss. + +'Naturally _I_ think most of Toddie's speeches sweet. Go on training my +babes in the knowledge of the Creator, Catherine, for I--I shouldn't +like them to grow up to be worldly like their mother.' + +'You only _try_ to be worldly, your heart isn't one bit so.' + +'Yes, it is; I love all the pleasures and vanities of life. Now go to +bed, Catherine, child, or you will oversleep yourself in the morning, +and not be able to write that lengthy letter to Brian North.' + +The girl sprang up, and clasped her strong young arms round her friend, +crying: + +'Good-night, then, you dearest of employers. Tell me once again that you +_do_ really want me, and that you will give me notice directly I cease +to be of use to you.' + +'Have I not told you, just this minute, that I want you for my babies' +sakes as well as for my own? If Ted and Nora had not their "dear Carr" +to teach them about God, they might question mother, and find out how +little her knowledge is on the subject. You have another mission here, +Catherine, for the enlightenment of ignorance.' + +'And "mother" knows where to seek knowledge, whereas babies do not. +Thank you again and again, dear, for making me welcome.' + +Mrs. Arderne turned the conversation into a more shallow channel by +laughingly reminding her young friend: + +'We shall probably get on together famously for the future, because your +plan and my plan for you are identical. We are both bent upon the +reconciliation of your uncles.' + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +A Sunday's Experiences + + +Catherine Carmichael was up and dressed next day fully two hours before +any one else was stirring in Woodley Villa. Then she said her prayers, +and read her Bible, and still had plenty of time left for the writing of +her letter. + +Softly opening the bedroom window, which was in the front of the house, +she placed her desk on a small table, and sat down where she could feel +the fresh wind and look out occasionally over the country scene. + +A September sunrise, and an open window! Mrs. Arderne would have been +horrified at Catherine's imprudence, but to this girl an open-air life +had been natural in all weathers, and for early hours she had a strong +preference. + +'Before breakfast' was always her thinking-time. She was of opinion that +men and women need leisure in which to reflect upon their lives, and to +remember both the high purpose and the unimportance of earthly +existence. Beginning the day thus, with happy realization of the +creature's indebtedness to the Creator, she found daily crosses and +perplexities much easier to bear with serenity, while joys and innocent +pleasures acquired double powers of satisfaction, by being hallowed with +foreseeing gratitude. + +The country was very quiet at this early hour of the Sabbath; no +agricultural workers were abroad, and smoke had scarcely begun to issue +from the picturesquely irregular chimneys of the village. In front of +the villa were fields, pasture land upon which grazed some venerable +horses, and across which a path wound away to a distant wood. Over the +trees hung a pearl-tinted mist, which the sunshine was beginning to +dispel. When, presently, the sun contrived to peep between two barriers +of cloud, the wood gleamed golden and gorgeous, as the light struck upon +its copper beeches. + +Catherine unconsciously smiled at the loveliness spread out before her +eyes, and remembered the words of a poet: + + 'What sweeter aid my matins could befall + Than this fair glory from the East hath made? + What holy sleights hath God, the Lord of All, + To bid us feel and see! We are not free + To say we see not, for the glory comes, + Nightly and daily, like the flowing sea.' + +Then she took up her pen and began to write to Brian. + +This was no hard task, for she knew that he liked her letters to be +rambling and unstudied, consisting of sentences from her heart, just as +she loved best to make them. All her pure girl's fancies and imaginings +about the higher life, all her tender anxieties--on the subject of +himself usually--her fears for his health, and longings for his complete +understanding of God, all her merry discoveries in her daily life, all +the kindnesses she received, all her hopes for the future, these were +written down simply for his interest. Fortunately, Brian North could be +trusted to appreciate and reverence Catherine's sincerity. The letter, +when written, was a precious revelation of a good woman's very soul. + +Probably the 'good woman' herself would never guess how large an effect +her letters wrought upon Brian's heart and intellect, how he was +learning to accept her ideas, see God through her eyes, and exchange +his worldly ambitions for her lofty content with aspirations infinitely +nobler. + +She was quite unconsciously setting him a lovable model of a Christian +life, as all God-serving girls should be able to do for those who are +dear to them. + +Her pen flew over the several sheets of paper, until she felt satisfied +that her lover had been given a really accurate description of her new +experiences at Beverbridge. She had honestly tried not to allow her +great affection for Uncle Jack to prejudice her in writing of Uncle +Ross, yet she wanted Brian to be prepared to be devoted to the former. + +Mrs. Arderne's suggestion that Brian would not approve of his +betrothed's acceptance of Redan Cottage as 'home' scarcely occurred to +Catherine this morning. She had not the least doubt that she had acted +in the best way in regard to Uncle Jack's offer, and so, loyally, she +felt certain that Brian must agree with her when he considered the +subject. + +The letter, though of even unusual length, was finished some time before +the hour for breakfast, so Catherine began to write another to her +cousin George in Melbourne, the cousin who had been in the same regiment +with poor Loring Carmichael. + +After sending messages to George's relatives, and giving him a spirited +account of her experiences in London, describing the sights she had +seen, she continued as follows: + +'Do you remember that you used to call me "the most meddlesome of +girls"?--that year when I tried to reconcile my stepfather and his men. +Well, I am going to be meddlesome again, for I want, if God will let me, +to make peace between our two English uncles. Would you believe that +they are living in different houses in the same neighbourhood, and are +still estranged because of Loring's choice of a profession? Yet I can +see that they both desire to be friends again, if once their pride +could be overcome. Now that Loring is dead, Uncle Jack must partly +regret having persuaded him to be a soldier, and Uncle Ross should be +able to forgive the choice, especially as he has been chiefly to blame +for the strength to which this foolish family feud has attained. If you +can tell me anything, George, about Loring's death, since you, his +friend, were with him when he fell, I might be fortunate enough to +effect a reconciliation through their mutual interest in the news. Did +Loring send no messages to either uncle? Please let me know all you +know, for I, being on the spot, can perhaps make good use of the +knowledge.' + +This letter was also finished, and the envelope addressed and stamped, +before the breakfast bell sounded. + +Catherine ran downstairs, to find Ted and Toddie awaiting her in the +dining-room, two solemn-faced little people, wearing their best frocks, +and standing side by side, hand in hand, on the hearth-rug. + +'We've been _vewwy_ good, an' we're so tired wiv it,' announced Toddie, +with emphasis. + +'We didn't fink muvver was ever comin', nor you, nor bweakfast,' +explained Ted. 'Bweakfast comed first though, an' we didn't peep one bit +under the cover, did we, Toddie?' + +'No, but it's sausages, I fink, 'cause it smells like it.' + +'Then you comed next, dearie Carr, an' we won't have to be good no +longer.' + +Ted's face was roguish again, and he scrambled on to Catherine's knee as +she sat down in the arm-chair, while Toddie, regardless of her Sunday +dress, sank down in a happy heap on the rug at her feet. + +'Not good any more! Oh, Ted, you know I always want you to be good!' she +exclaimed, trying to preserve discipline. + +'Oh yes, of course!' cried the culprit, 'only the nurse says "Be vewwy +good children," when she just wants us not to cwumple our clothes. _You_ +don't do that. _You_ don't like us best when we're _stiff_, does you, +Carr?' + +'You mustn't spoil your nice clothes on purpose, Ted and Toddie, but +you--you needn't keep on remembering them. Why, they are sensibly-chosen +clothes, they will not easily take harm. Some poor little children are +always dressed in silks and satins, so grand that they are expected to +take great care of them, but your kind mamma likes you to be happy and +able to romp about.' + +'_Silks an' satins!_' repeated Toddie. 'Gwacious!--_wouldn't_ we cwumple +them all up!' + +Mrs. Arderne came into the room, and found the usual picture awaiting +her vision--Catherine and the babies laughing together, clinging +together, perfectly happy in their merriment. + +'Ah, chickies, plaguing "Carr" again. Catherine, dear, in a weak moment +yesterday I promised those infants that they should spend Sunday with +us, and come to church.' + +'We'll be _vewwy_ good.' + +'We'll twy dreffully hard not to laugh.' + +Catherine kissed them both as she lifted them comfortably on to their +chairs close to the table. + +'You must promise faithfully not to talk in church, children, not even +if there is a funny-looking old lady in front of you, or any naughty +little boys try to make you laugh at them.' + +'Not if there's anover lady who can't find her pocket, Carr?' + +'Or an old, old man wiv a spider cweeping up his back?' + +'Not for any reason at all. You must promise to try to remember all the +time that you are in church to please God, not to amuse yourselves.' + +'But we mustn't speak pwayers out loud.' + +'Muvver, you don't always 'member, _does_ you?' + +'I'se _sure_ muvver doesn't, 'cause once she laughed an' spoke to Carr +something about bonnets,' cried Toddie delightedly. + +'Now you are beginning to talk too much, and about matters you do not +properly understand,' said Miss Carmichael quickly. 'Say grace, and eat +your breakfasts, dears.' + +The mother and children, and the companion, sallied forth early to find +the village church. Ted and Toddie walked most demurely, one on either +side of Catherine, sometimes uttering their quaint criticisms of the +people and objects they passed, and proudly carrying their Prayer-books, +so that their own destination was plainly intimated to all persons +curious on the subject. + +'Won't look as though we was goin' no wicked walk,' explained Toddie. + +The church proved to be quite a long walk away. It was a beautiful old +grey brick building, wreathed and wrapped round by ivies of many +species, and stood, in the midst of its little graveyard, on the summit +of a hill. Two roads approached it from different sides of the country, +and there was also a much-used footpath leading from a vista of +park-like meadows to the vestry door. + +By this path came the clergyman, a venerable-looking gentleman, whom +Catherine guessed to be the Mr. Burnley of whom her uncles had told her +many years ago. + +Just as Catherine passed at the wicket-gate of the churchyard she became +aware of the approach of Mr. Ross Carmichael, who had just stepped out +of his carriage. It was a rare event for him to be seen in the precincts +of a church. The tall, straight old gentleman was dressed with his +accustomed care, from the glossy hat to the perfectly-fitting _Suéde_ +gloves, and the white 'spats' over patent-leather boots. Catherine +noticed that his step was very firm, unlike that of Uncle Jack, who was +approaching from a greater distance, coming slowly uphill, beside +Agatha's wheel-chair, which Robert was pushing. The military uncle's +face had none of the deep lines which creased that of the business man, +yet he seemed the elder and less strong, and his moustache was quite as +silvery as was the other's short beard. + +Probably Uncle Ross was aware of the approach of Uncle Jack, for he +advanced quickly to greet his niece, who introduced him to Mrs. Arderne. + +'This is a pleasure. I trust you will add to it by helping to fill my +pew.' + +Now this invitation could not easily be refused, though Catherine +reflected regretfully that her other relative might object to her having +accepted it. Mrs. Arderne settled the question by answering gratefully: + +'That is exceedingly kind of you, Mr. Carmichael. It is sometimes so +difficult for strangers to find good seats in country churches. I only +hope that the children will do nothing to make you regret your +considerate offer.' + +Ted and Toddie were gazing in an awe-stricken manner up into the face of +the austere-looking, handsome old gentleman, who now shook hands +ceremoniously with them both. + +Uncle Jack and Agatha were nearly at the gate by this time. Uncle Ross, +after a glance over his shoulder, lingered outside the porch to ask: + +'Catherine, I am anxious for another talk with you. Can you come to see +me to-morrow? Will you be able to spare her, Mrs. Arderne?' + +'Oh, certainly.' + +'I will walk up in the afternoon then,' said the girl; adding, with a +laugh and a blush, 'and if by any happy chance Brian should run down +to-morrow to see me, may I bring him also?' + +'It will gratify me to make his acquaintance. Excuse my leading the way +into church.' + +Uncle Jack and Agatha were not more than twelve steps behind now, but +Catherine could not refuse to follow Uncle Ross through the porch and up +the aisle. Ted and Toddie peeped across her skirts at one another, and +murmured, '_Dwefful_!' + +'I will speak to Uncle Jack at all costs, even if I have to appear rude +to Uncle Ross, after service,' Catherine decided. + +She tried her utmost to forget her family quarrel, at least its +difficulties and perplexing incidents, while she listened to the sermon; +and endeavoured, as she prayed for God's help in her effort at +peace-making, not to be conscious of the reproachful glances which +Agatha, from her chair in a side aisle, was directing towards her. + +Afterwards, when the congregation had nearly dispersed, Uncle Jack and +Uncle Ross remained in church, each waiting for the other to move first. +Each happened to be resolved not to do so. Uncle Ross wished to prevent +Catherine from speaking to his brother. Uncle Jack was simply determined +to speak to her, as he and Agatha both desired to do so. + +At length, when the long wait was becoming ridiculous, and Ted and +Toddie were beginning to fidget, Mr. Ross Carmichael rose, and walking +with more than usual stiffness, led the way out of church. Immediately +the colonel marched out, too, down the side aisle. + +The groups joined in the porch, and passed into the open air together. + +Catherine saw the two old gentlemen exchange the stiffest of bows, but +her quick eyes noted also the restrained impulse of Uncle Jack's right +hand, and the wistful expression in the gaze with which he regarded his +brother, who was now bending courteously over Agatha's chair, inquiring +after her health. + +'I'm tired, and in pain, but then I always am,' said the child +fretfully. 'And I've had a lot of neuralgia lately; the air seems damp +and horrid down in the village, where _we_ live.' + +Uncle Ross murmured polite regrets, and after bowing to Mrs. Arderne, +and reminding his niece, 'I shall expect you to-morrow afternoon, then,' +turned away by the footpath across the fields. + +By this time Mrs. Arderne and the colonel were chatting together. + +Agatha beckoned to Catherine to come near, and whispered: + +'You ought to have sat in _our_ seat.' + +'No; if I have accepted a "home" from one uncle, surely I may accept the +occasional loan of a pew from the other? You must not be unreasonable, +dear, if you want me to try to effect a reconciliation; you must leave +me free to use my own methods.' + +'Horrid old man! and you are going to him to-morrow!' + +'Well, I am coming to you to-day. Mrs. Arderne has kindly promised to +spare me this evening.' + +'Come early, then, for I want some of you all to myself!' + +Ted and Toddie ran up to the side of the wheel-chair at this moment, and +scrutinized Agatha. + +'Can't you get up?' + +'No.' + +'Never mind, though,' said Toddie, anxious to be consoling. 'You look +vewwy nice, an' you must feel comfor'ble. I wish _we_ had sofas in +church. Carr wouldn't let us even kneel back'ards this mornin'.' + +''Cause of the stiff old man,' Ted explained. '_Your_ old man's ever so +much nicer!' + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +A Ray of Light + + +'I don't suppose she'll come at all, guardian. Everything turns out +disappointing. That Mrs. Arderne will keep her indoors, or she'll be +afraid to walk in the rain, or she'll forget all about me, or +those--those extraordinary children will coax her to stay with them.' + +Agatha had been fretting all the afternoon in this fashion, until she +had forced herself to believe her own dismal prophecies, and no words of +her guardian availed to comfort her. + +He was standing beside her couch now, holding her thin right hand in his +firm grasp, smilingly trying to persuade her to be more reasonable, and +to take the tea and hot buttered toast which Harriet had prepared with +so much care. + +The colonel was enveloped in a huge cloak, for he was going out to read +aloud at a Young Men's Club,--a habit of his on many Sunday evenings. + +'Catherine is true to her promises, I am certain of that, dear. She will +come to you if she possibly can.' + +'Very likely; but she is sure to be afraid of the weather. Just listen +to the wind and rain! It is a shame, when the morning was so lovely.' + +'God's weather, my little woman: that must be for the best.' + +'Oh, _bother_!' was the rude answer, and Agatha turned her head away +from her best friend. + +The colonel did not take offence. He was grieved by her rebellion +against God far more than by her impertinence to himself; and he was +sufficiently humble to recollect how short a time it was since he had +learned to trust the All-Father, saying in his thoughts, 'If I, a grown +man, could be both ignorant and stubborn-willed, how dare I be shocked +by this invalid child's foolishness?' + +So, instead of scolding, he slipped an arm under Agatha's shoulders to +raise her up, that she might take her tea before he was obliged to leave +her. + +'If Catherine comes, you will need strength to entertain her cheerfully. +Be brave and good, dear.' + +Agatha longed to push the cup away from her, but his patient kindness +prevailed over her cross mood. + +'I'm a savage little beast. Guardian, I'm--I'm sorry!' + +'There's a dear girl! No doubt pain is very bad to bear.' + +'I haven't any pain now--only in my temper. But I don't pretend to be +_religiously_ sorry, you know; I don't want to be bad to you--that's +all.' + +'Your Father in heaven loves you better than I, your adopted father on +earth, can do.' + +'You only love me out of duty. It must be that, because I'm not a bit +nice; so probably my Father in heaven gave me up long ago!' + +'Agatha, my darling, do you not know better than that?' + +'Better than _which_, guardian? better than to doubt God's love or +yours?' she asked, smiling through tears that seemed to burn her weary +eyes. + +'I might answer truthfully, "Both"; but if you cannot trust in my love, +you should be able to lean confidently upon the love of your Maker.' + +'Are you _really_ fond of me? Would you be sorry if I were to die?' + +Colonel Jack looked his ward gravely in the face, his eyes filled with +sincerity. He was a man of action, not of words, so he made no lengthy +protestations, only saying with heartfelt fervour: + +'I love you, for your own sake and that of my old friend, your father; +and I should be lonely without you.' + +Agatha gazed at him in silence for a minute or two, studying the +sincerity of his eyes, which had so often looked at death calmly. Then +she pressed her lips to his hand, and cried: + +'I'm happier now, then! It's dreadful to think that no one does. +Perhaps--I mean, I'll believe God does.' + +'"Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his +friends,"' quoted the colonel reverently. + +'Guardian, you are always repeating that. I believe it's the only text +you know by heart!' + +Seeing Agatha's natural expression come again to her face--the teasing, +audacious, little smile he knew so well--he was contented. + +'It is the best I _could_ remember, little woman. Now, promise me you +will not fret any more to-night, while I am away. Catherine will come to +you, unless she is unavoidably prevented.' + +'I'll try to be reasonable. It would be much nicer if you could stay +with me till she comes, though. There's something very odd about +persuading young men and boys to go to a club on Sunday evenings, just +to hear reading, when they could quite well go to church.' + +'None are allowed in but those who have been to church in the morning, +and Mr. Burnley tells me that many go to service (who used never to be +seen in church before), just that they may be entitled to join our +Sunday evening circle. We read interesting books to them, and sometimes +there are recitations of poems,--it is not surprising how many great +literary works there are which raise the heart and mind to God. Then we +always begin and end with prayer. It is not a bad service itself, +Agatha; and the young fellows would not go to church twice a day--they +would probably spend their evenings in gambling and drinking, or in the +company of street loafers. Beverbridge has its bad characters.' + +'Now, why is it that you never address meetings of the club?' asked his +ward mischievously. 'That was quite a speech!' + +He laughed. + +'_I_ speak? My courage fails me even when I begin to read aloud! No, no, +that is not the kind of action for which my poor powers are suitable.... +Now, good-bye, my dear. Keep a brave heart until Catherine comes. Be +God's plucky little soldier!' + +Only half an hour later Agatha was nestling her face against Catherine +Carmichael's shoulder, smiling up at her radiantly. They were talking of +Agatha's own life,--its trials, pleasures, wants, and blessings. + +'Oh, you can't guess how badly I've wanted a girl-friend, some one to +tell everything to! I used to dream about you, when you were out in +Australia, and I nearly began to write long letters to you.' + +'I wish you had written.' + +'You couldn't have known what I was like. I should have hated you to +think me nice, and then to have come to England and been disappointed. +It's best as it is. Help me, Cath; _do_ help me! What am I to do to be +nicer?' + +'Leave off thinking so much about yourself.' + +'Why? I ought to meditate continually upon my faults, ought I not? +People have told me so.' + +'That is a morbid idea of religion and duty, dear. Be as sorry as +possible for your sins, but spare time to meditate upon God's mercy and +goodness, otherwise how can you learn to love Him? Then again, by +thinking always of your faults, you grow into a spiritual hypochondriac. +How ill a person would feel who spent all his time in considering the +exact strength and nature of every small pain or weariness! No, no, +Agatha; to be healthily religious, you must trust in God a great deal +more, and, in remembering Him, forget yourself!' + +'It must be much easier for you, Catherine,' said the little girl +wistfully, 'for _you_ never feel too ill to do anything but be cross, do +you?' + +'No, dear. But there will be a wonderful reward due to you in heaven, +if, in spite of your bodily weakness, you serve the Father bravely. Tell +Him your difficulties; speak to Him quite simply, at all hours, out of +the fulness of your heart, and He will understand. You will learn to +feel sure of His presence near you; you will love to bear pain +patiently, to please Him, and in remembrance of the agony He chose for +His portion in order that we, His rebellious servants, might be +eternally happy. Once you have learned this lesson, you will never feel +lonely any more.' + +Catherine's face was glorified by the light of the peace of which she +was speaking, that peace which truly passeth understanding! Perhaps +Agatha learned more by watching her friend's face than even by listening +to her words. Certainly she was both convinced and comforted. + +'Catherine, I'll try.' + +The promise (for as a promise the words were spoken) came slowly, +earnestly, eagerly from the child's lips. Then, laying her head on her +friend's shoulder, she went on to say: + +'It won't be easy, I know that; and it means never trying to please +myself only, never speaking angrily just to make other people angry, +never calling Uncle Ross our enemy and trying to hate him, never.... Oh +yes, it _will_ be difficult! Only now I seem to understand, as I never +did before, that it isn't only people who want to be extra good, but +it's _every one_ who ought to serve God _thoroughly_. Do you know what I +mean?' + +'Yes, dear. It is very common for persons to say or think, "_I_ needn't +devote my whole efforts to serving God. _I_ shall be all right, so long +as I do not sin in great matters." But that is a form of ignorance. +Directly such a person is asked, "Why were you created?" "Are you +fulfilling the Creator's purpose?" there is no answer forthcoming, +except an admission of failure. Now we all of us despise failures that +are the result of idleness; so how can we expect God, at the last +judgment, to reward us for failing through our ill-will and +slothfulness?' + +'It all seems quite plain, when you talk of religion.' + +Catherine's gentle hands were stroking Agatha's hot forehead, passing +and repassing over her eyes with a soft touch which was very soothing. + +'My mother taught me all these truths, and I have never forgotten them,' +she answered. 'So you are going to give God your whole heart?' + +'I'll begin this very evening, and I shall write down the promise, in +cypher, in my diary, that I mayn't ever be able to forget for long. +Cath, if I were to die now ... should I go to hell?' + +'If _you_ had a servant who had neglected his duty, but who was honestly +sorry, and promised you that he would never wilfully sin against you +again, would you wish to condemn him to eternal misery? Oh, childie, +when you doubt God's mercy, you do Him a terrible injustice, for He is +many million times more generous than the greatest and best of His +creatures can ever become.' + +'Oh, Catherine, you _are_ beautiful!' + +'Why, what sudden nonsense is this, my pet?' was the amused question. + +'I was watching you. Does Mr. North love you very, _very_ much? He ought +to.' + +Blushes stole over the face that had been praised. + +'He loves me a great deal more than I deserve.' + +'I made guardian tell me all you told him. You don't mind my knowing, do +you?' + +'Of course not. It will be nice to be able to talk and write of him to +you, little one, for there was no one to sympathise with my romance +until I found you and Uncle Jack.... Brian _may_ come down to see me +to-morrow, but I am trying not to hope too much, or else I shall feel +dismal if a disappointment follows. Still, he hasn't telegraphed yet, +nor written for two whole days, so I think he must be coming.' + +'If he does, you will bring him here?' asked Agatha excitedly. + +Catherine nodded. + +'I am simply longing to show him to Uncle Jack; they are sure to love +one another. In the afternoon I have agreed to go to see Uncle Ross, and +to take Brian with me, if possible.... Now, Agatha! What a dreadful +frown!' + +'It's gone, now, and I know you are quite right and wise, Cath. Please +go on with what you were going to say.' + +'But I shall insist upon leaving Carm Hall in time to spend the evening +here. I shall say you have invited me to supper. That will be true, +won't it?' + +'Yes, yes, and Harriet shall lay the cloth and make the table look very +nice, before she goes out for her "evening." Ah, Cath, you have made me +happy!' + +'God bless you, darling! He will teach you to be a great deal happier +yet, I hope.' + +When the colonel returned from his work at the club he heard Agatha's +laughter resounding through the cottage,--a sound that was strange +indeed. The girls were neither of them in the least tired of their +_tête-à-tête_, yet they gladly welcomed him and soon the three were +chatting as gaily as two had done. + +Before Catherine went home she shared in the evening prayer at Redan +Cottage, and heard the colonel's voice falter as he offered up one +special petition for the 'welfare, spiritual and temporal, of all +relatives and friends.' + +No wonder that the girl's heart was filled with rejoicing as she walked +back to Woodley Villa! She had been able to comfort poor little Agatha, +and had persuaded her to serve God. And there was still plenty of work +to be done, a beautiful reconciliation to effect, if God would give her +grace and aid sufficient. + +Not for an instant did she count up the gains that might accrue to +herself from this peace-making. Her intentions were pure and unselfish. + +Little world-loving Mrs. Arderne would have marvelled again, had she +been able to read her companion's heart to-night. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +The Coming of Catherine's Betrothed + + +By ten o'clock on Monday morning Brian North had earned a holiday. He +had been up and working since the small hours, but instead of going back +to his lodgings to rest, he hurried to a station and took train for +Beverbridge. Catherine's letter had been brought to him, and had made a +precious interlude to his occupation. Generally he was as busy in the +evening as in the morning, but his other occupation had been taken away +from him,--a loss which he was obliged to regret, although it had +obtained him an opportunity for a few days' holiday in the neighbourhood +of Catherine Carmichael. + +Had she been in London, Brian would have remained there, too; so when +the landscape began to be green, and the buildings few, and the sky +showed a clear expanse above, his spirits revived with his gratitude for +the fact that his dear girl was in the country. The fresh pure air +strengthened him already. + +Beverbridge was a long journey from town, but he found time pass +pleasantly, as he leaned back close to the open window, and let his +thoughts rove over the subject of Catherine's perfections. There would +be need to ponder over the question how to gain some new work, how +secure a prize in an overcrowded amphitheatre, since his marriage would +be delayed until he could earn not only a sufficient income to provide a +home, but also a small sum 'laid by' as provision for 'rainy days.' + +Brian was resolved not to persuade Catherine to make an improvident +marriage; he had seen much misery resulting from such folly, and his +love for her was deep enough to make his plans unselfish. + +There was a smile on his lips as he sat thinking, alone in the railway +carriage--the smile which thoughts of Catherine always created. Tired, +disappointed, harassed though he was, his life was blessed by a great +happiness, and but for the fear of being guilty of hypocrisy, he would +have thanked God for it. + +These were the doubts which prompted the fear: 'Was he not supposed to +be resigned to any possible manifestation of God's will? Without this +resignation would not gratitude be guilty of mockery, since the Creator +possessed undoubtedly the right to take, as well as to give? How could +he honestly thank God for the gift of Catherine, if he were not prepared +also to acknowledge God's right to take Catherine from him? + +It may be thought that Brian was too sincere with himself in this +matter. The girl he loved was strong and healthy, and likely, humanly +speaking, to live to a good old age. But he was essentially thorough, +and now that he was groping after the light, he was anxious to invite it +to shine into every corner of his heart. He had already perceived that +religion must be all or nothing, a sham or a whole, so that he could not +rest content with any reservations. + +If he was to love God, then to the Creator must be given more love than +to the creature. Human tenderness and sympathy do not enter into the +devotion that a soul must cherish for its Maker. He was not so foolish +as to expect to feel the same impulses of longing for a vision of God, +for instance, as it was natural for him to feel for the presence of +Catherine; but he was not able yet to give the love which is commanded, +the perfect acknowledgment of God as Author of all good, the resignation +of praying 'Thy will be done,' of owning 'Thy will must be best,' and +the confidence of leaving the future entirely, gladly, in God's care. + +Brian often worried about the future. His health suffered from the +feverish manner in which he pursued Fortune--all for Catherine's sake. +As a youth he had fretted for fame; now he spent his life in restlessly +striving after money and a secured position. + +His pale, lined face, the grey hairs threading the dark curls over his +temples, and his sunken eager eyes, proclaimed his want of peace. + +There was no one but a porter in the little Beverbridge station when +Brian arrived. Just as he was calling the man to take charge of his bag, +and to direct him to a respectable inn, he chanced to look up at the +bridge which spanned the rail. A tall girl standing, holding a little +boy in her arms--Catherine herself! + +Lovers' eyes are seldom deceived in such cases. Catherine, out for a +walk with Ted and Toddie, had brought them within the precincts of the +railway, not only because the small folks delighted in the sight of 'a +big puffing engine,' but also because there was a possibility that Brian +might come down to-day by the London express. + +Her beaming smile as she gazed down at him over the parapet of the +bridge was the cause of sympathetic beams upon his face. + +'That gentleman is--a great friend of mine, Ted and Toddie!' she cried +exultantly. + +'How nice!' said Ted. 'He _must_ be nice if _you_ like him, Carr.' + +'He's comin' up. Oh, poor, poor man! Is he ill, Carr?' + +'No, dears, only hard-worked; and he lives in smoky dark London.' + +By this time Brian had mounted the steps and emerged through the doorway +on to the bridge. + +Catherine had put down the child, so she put both her hands into +Brian's, and so they stood for a few minutes, smiling, silent, looking +into one another's eyes, in delicious contentment at having met once +more. + +Then the woman's practical mind read the significance of the presence of +a bag. + +'You are come, and you haven't got to go away again yet!' + +'I may spend three days in Beverbridge, dear.' + +'God is good!' was Catherine's simple answer. + +'_I'm_ Ted Arderne,' announced a little voice. + +'And I'm Toddie,' said another. + +Brian responded warmly to the children's greeting, gave Ted his umbrella +to play with, and made Toddie laugh at the energy with which he +shouldered his bag. Together they went along the quiet country road and +through the pretty village, Brian delighting in the autumnal crispness +of the wind and in the beauty of the unpretentious scenery. + +'Did you expect me, Catherine?' he asked. + +'I only hoped for you.' + +Mrs. Arderne welcomed Brian most kindly. True, she did not think that in +becoming engaged to him Catherine had acted wisely, but her womanly +instinct was aroused to take benevolent interest in a love affair. She +could not help being prepossessed in Brian's favour by the first glimpse +of his expressive, clever-looking, worn face. And the manner in which +she showed her kindness was the best evidence she could have given of +her sympathy. + +'I will take care of the children,' she said. 'You and Mr. North can +have a quiet half-hour in the garden before lunch. You must have reams +to say to each other.' + +So Catherine led him out, and they strolled up and down the narrow +gravel paths, under the gnarled branches of venerable apple trees, in +and out among the flower beds, and past the vegetables. Then he began to +tell her about his troubles. + +'You are much poorer, then, than you were?' she said quickly, glancing +at his face. 'And I might have helped you--I mean, I might have schemed +to gain a fortune--and I won't even try to do so. Brian, tell me all +that is in your heart now, all the thoughts that came to you when you +read my long letter.' + +'I love and admire my dear brave girl more than ever. When I had read +her letter all through, I told myself that she was a woman in a +thousand, that it was a privilege indeed to be allowed to work for her. +Then, if you want a complete account, I smiled over the description of +Uncles Ross and Jack, and reflected, "What a first-rate old chap the +colonel must be!"' + +'Did you? I'm glad. You must love him. And you do not in the very least +wee bit blame me for having accepted the home he offered me?' + +'No, Catherine; I would have you happy and free to follow your own +ideal. We should neither of us know much happiness, my dear one, if we +were a rich relative's pensioners, obliged to humour all his whims, and +keep silent when we disapproved of his practices.' + +'You are--just the Brian I knew you were!' she exclaimed gratefully. + +'Only poorer.' + +'A new post will be found some day. Meanwhile you will have a +badly-needed rest!' + +'The literary labour-market is fearfully overcrowded, Catherine. I doubt +if I shall obtain more employment,--not before Christmas, at all events. +Every week of idleness postpones our wedding day.' + +'God will help us, even in worldly matters, if we ask Him to, and if we +trust Him, dearest. Tell me, have you _thought_, as you promised to +think? Have you studied your Bible? Have you prayed for faith?' + +'Yes, to all three questions. I do believe, but my new faith is not +strong enough to stand some tests I have put it to--one test +especially.' + +'What is it?' + +'If God took you away from me, Cath, I could not forgive Him.' + +'Yet God gave me to you. But for His will we should never have crossed +one another's paths, never loved one another.' + +'That truth would in no way minimise the loss we are supposing.' + +'If I were to die, you would not wish that we had never loved one +another?' + +'No, no!' + +'Then, by your own admission, God would have conferred a boon upon you, +even if He had done that which, in thought, appals you.' + +'The apparent cruelty of His will would not be less.' + +'You are not rebellious now because we are parted for weeks together, +Brian.' + +'Because I am hoping for a time when we shall be always together, +dearest.' + +She smiled radiantly. + +'Ah! you have answered your own doubt! _Life_ is only as a day compared +with eternity. What though God, for some wise and good purpose, were to +part us on earth! has He not promised an everlasting home of perfect +happiness after life? Oh, dear boy, let us praise Him every hour for the +gift of love He has generously bestowed on us. Don't let us use His gift +to deny Him! Besides, it is wrong for a weak human creature to consider +persistently and hopelessly all the possible sorrows of his future. God +has promised not to fail us, to send us grace sufficient for the +differing needs of every crisis. We can't expect to be brave _in +advance_, but we must trust Him to give us our "daily bread."' + +'You mean that if God takes you from me some day, He will give me +strength to bear the blow?' + +'Yes, dear; that is certain.' + +'And I am no hypocrite if I thank Him for a gift which I cannot yet bear +the thought of His recalling?' + +'Not if you try honestly to pray, as He taught us, "Thy will be done." +That does not mean that you think yourself ready, unaided, to bear the +blow, only that you admit His right to do as He pleases with His own +creations, and that you believe His will to be designed for our highest +welfare.' + +Brian sighed, as a man does from whom a great trouble has departed. + +'I will believe that God is good, therefore that He is merciful to the +weakness of His servants. My faith grows stronger when you teach me, +Catherine.' + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +An Important Offer + + +Mrs. Arderne had kindly invited Brian North to stay to lunch, as he and +Catherine were to go to Carm Hall early that afternoon. + +'On your return from the visit to Mr. Carmichael you can take your bag +and find an inn,' she suggested. + +During the meal she occupied herself in studying Brian, 'drawing him +out,' by artful questions on literary and other matters. While quite +aware of her scrutiny and purpose, he allowed himself to gratify her +curiosity as much as possible, acknowledging tacitly her right as +Catherine's friend to be anxious lest Catherine's lover should prove a +simpleton or a cad! + +Brian was keenly amused. Not being a very young man, he was free from +self-consciousness under the investigation, and was able to repay study +by study. Vivacious, worldly little Mrs. Arderne, with her contradictory +feelings towards Catherine's lover--half desirous of agreeing with +Catherine's choice, yet disappointed because Catherine had been 'so +romantic' as to accept a penniless suitor--was a charmingly inconsistent +character for the writer to consider. + +The result of this mutual interest was naturally twofold. Brian decided +that he was glad Catherine possessed so true-hearted a friend, and Mrs. +Arderne came to the conclusion that Brian was a man of delightful +manners, brilliant wit, good breeding, and undoubted talents--a fit +husband for Catherine in every way but that of fortune! + +Lunch over, Ted and Toddie came down to be played with as usual, and +immediately insisted upon questioning Mr. North at great length as to +where he lived, and why he lived there, what he did all day long, and +why he did it, etc., etc. By his answers he gave purposely an accurate +account of his circumstances,--more for the information of Mrs. Arderne +than to please her children. + +'I write for papers--sometimes all night long, while you little people +are comfortably sleeping,' he said, laughingly lifting them on to his +knees. 'It is tiring work, and I can't say I'm fond of doing it; I +should like to sit at home and write about things that interest me--to +make books, you know. Only people are not paid for doing the things that +amuse them, and if I did not work for money I shouldn't ever have any +jam to eat with my bread and butter. I really doubt if I should have +even the bread without the butter!' + +Ted and Toddie stared solemnly at him. + +'It's _your_ lessons. We don't get money at all for doing ours, though.' + +'For shame, Ted!' cried Catherine. 'You get prizes when you are good, +industrious children, and your work is not worth money yet. Some day, +when you are quite grown up, you will be able to earn payment, as Mr. +North does, but only if you learn well while you are young.' + +'Did _you_ learn well when you were six?' asked Toddie, anxiously +peering into his face. + +'I am not quite certain, dear, but I was always very fond of reading.' + +'And I say, are you working for prizes too, as we are?' + +Brian glanced smilingly at Catherine, who blushed radiantly as he +answered: + +'Yes, Ted, for a prize that is very beautiful; but I cannot stay to tell +you now what the prize is, because I am going out with Miss Carmichael +this afternoon.' + +'Carr, you'll tell us all about it to-night, won't you?' + +''Bout Mr. North's prize!' added Toddie. + +An interruption occurred at this moment. A servant brought in a note for +Catherine, and explained that Mr. Carmichael's carriage had come for +her. + +The letter was as follows: + + 'CARM HALL. + + 'MY DEAR NIECE,-- + + 'I hope you will give me as much of your society as possible to-day + (bringing Mr. North with you, if he has arrived yet in + Beverbridge); but apart from this desire of mine, pray keep the + carriage waiting as long as suits your convenience. + + 'Believe me to be, + + 'Your affectionate uncle, + + 'ROSS CARMICHAEL.' + +'Oh, good-bye to our nice walk!' sighed the girl mischievously, as she +handed the note to Brian. 'A closed carriage too! I see it through the +window! And this is such a lovely autumn day! Dear old uncle, I ought to +be ashamed of my grumbles, though, for he meant to show me a most +considerate attention!' + +Brian laughed, as he answered: + +'The walk is a loss, certainly, but by driving we shall be able to spend +a longer time at Carm Hall, and I am anxious to make the acquaintance of +your relatives.' + +'Mr. Carmichael is a charming old gentleman,' said Mrs. Arderne. + +'And what is Colonel Carmichael, please, ma'am?' + +'My darling girl, don't question me in that impertinent fashion. My +admiration for your elder uncle does not make me blind to the charm of +the younger.' + +'Uncle Jack impressed you favourably, I am certain, though you saw so +little of him!' + +'Mr. North, do you mean to allow Catherine to obstinately insist upon +offending Mr. Ross Carmichael?' + +Brian looked from the interrogator to Catherine's demurely smiling face, +then back again. + +'If I wished Catherine to be worldly-wise, Mrs. Arderne, I should be +wishing her to give me up.' + +'No, not necessarily,' cried the kind little woman, anxious to make +amends for having reminded him of his poverty. 'If Mr. Ross takes a +fancy to you, he might--do anything for you both. He is already much +attached to his niece. It is only her obstinate choice of a home with +Uncle Jack that stands in the way of her heiress-ship!' + +'While Catherine sees a work awaiting her, she will become happy only by +doing it. I would rather she should be happy than rich.' + +'Then _you_ believe in her possession of a serious vocation to convert +the inhabitants of Redan Cottage?' + +'I always believe in a woman's vocation to do that good which she +clearly sees ought to be done, and for which her gifts and sympathies +fit her,' he answered gravely. + +'Oh, Brian, thank you!' the girl cried gratefully. + +'I thought that only Catherine was quixotic and imprudent, but now I see +that you are both in the conspiracy to ruin your prospects!' was Mrs. +Arderne's regretful reply. 'At least you need not let Uncle Ross's +horses catch their deaths of cold! Go and get ready, Catherine, foolish +child!' + +As they were driven along the well-kept country road leading to Carm +Hall, Catherine and Brian talked of their 'prospects' almost as +practically as Mrs. Arderne could have done, but they were the prospects +of finding work for him, not an heiress-ship for her! And to an +irreligious or God-forgetting person their trust in the efficacy of +asking heavenly aid would, no doubt, have seemed childish. They were +content, however, because now they both believed that God would provide +for the necessities of those who turned to Him in faith. + +It was Mr. Carmichael's footman, not his personal attendant, James, who +opened the door of Carm Hall to them, and they were ushered into the +large drawing-room, where the master of the house was awaiting them. + +'Uncle Ross, I have brought Brian, you see!' + +'I am glad to make your acquaintance, Mr. North.' + +These were the first words spoken. + +Some time elapsed before the trio could shake off the strangeness of +their meeting; even the elderly man was conscious of a feeling of +awkwardness. Brian, who had come to be inspected, was perhaps most at +ease. It was due, chiefly, to his adroit management of the situation +that conversation became more confidential before long. + +In speaking of some news of the day, he alluded to the opinion advocated +on the subject by the paper for which he had formerly worked, and +expressed his regret at having lost his employment. + +'For, as you know, sir, I am a very poor man, with the best possible +reason for desiring success in my profession.' + +'Catherine says you are a hard worker when work is ready for you to do,' +said Mr. Carmichael. + +'It would be strange if I were not, since our home depends upon my +industry,' answered Brian, with a smile. 'We have been making each other +very hopeful--haven't we, Catherine?--by deciding that work usually +comes to those who are anxious and _able_ to do it.' + +'Work, perhaps--though personally I doubt your optimistic theory--but +not always the kind of work desired.' + +'It would only be a question of capability with me. I would do any +honourable remunerative task.' + +Uncle Ross began to question Brian closely as to the writing he had +done, and the extent of his literary and journalistic experience, and +the talk became animated, interspersed with anecdotes of celebrated +literature, and keen, clever expressions of opinion by the younger man. + +Catherine sat silent, listening and taking pride in her lover. That +Uncle Ross was pleased was evident. + +It was after tea--over which Catherine presided--that a chance question +brought discord among them. Mr. Carmichael asked their plans. + +Was Mr. North staying long in Beverbridge? and how much of his time was +already allotted? + +'None, except this evening, when I believe I am to have the pleasure of +making your brother's acquaintance,' answered Brian. + +The frown, almost habitual, but which had been invisible during the last +hour, returned to the squire's brow. + +'I regret that my niece continues to court the favour of those +persons--I should say of the person--who has wronged me.' + +'It was an involuntary wrong; Uncle Jack desires nothing so much as to +have his share in the quarrel forgiven him!' + +'When trust has been once broken, trust can never again be established. +Catherine, I wish you to be happy; Mr. North, I hope to make you an +offer which you will be able to accept without loss of independence; but +I do require from you both some practical evidence of your +consideration.' + +'But, uncle dear, I have been offered a home at Redan Cottage, and +though I do not mean to give up my situation as Mrs. Arderne's +companion, I have promised always to regard Uncle Jack's home as my +own.' + +'You have done this in defiance of my objection?' + +'Agatha wants me, poor lonely little soul! and from whom but an uncle +could I accept a shelter?' + +'True. I regret that my offer was not made first. However, all that is +necessary now is that you should inform--the--the other uncle that you +are obliged, for Mr. North's sake, to withdraw your acceptance of the +home.' + +'Why "for Mr. North's sake"?' asked the girl, going at once to the root +of the matter. Uncle Ross knew that this inducement was the strongest he +could offer, and she, by her question, admitted as much. + +'I will tell you my plan,' said Mr. Carmichael, 'though I had intended +waiting for a day or two, until Mr. North and I had begun to understand +one another more. It is this. I purchase the paper known as _The +Circle_, and become sole proprietor. It is in the market, and is as safe +an investment as any I know. Then I offer Mr. North the editorship, with +a yearly increasing share in the profits. At my death he shall become +proprietor in my stead. The sole return I require from either of you is +a reasonable amount of companionship--say a frequent Saturday to Monday +visit, as the paper is a weekly one, and occasional longer stays here at +Carm Hall--with a cessation of your visits to the brother who has +injured me. In the interests of peace and goodwill, I would sanction a +meeting between you and him at Christmastide.' + +While the squire had been speaking he had watched the faces of his +auditors, had noted and apprised the strength of glad surprise, of +gratitude, of hope, of disappointment, of disapproval. He could scarcely +believe that his offer would be refused, yet he saw how trustfully Brian +turned towards Catherine, leaving her to answer, and how brave was the +determination in Catherine's eyes. + +'Uncle, your offer of help is a very large one, and we both thank you +for it; but I cannot, even for Brian's sake, break my word to Uncle +Jack, who was the first to offer me a home, and to Agatha, who wants me. +Neither could I enter upon a share in the quarrel, taking your part in +it, since I believe that, though Uncle Jack may have acted imprudently, +he never meant to make Loring turn against you. I think that you might +hold out a hand to him. He would be so glad, for he frets over your +estrangement, and prays for you every day.' + +'My dear niece, even a young and charming woman is not entitled to give +advice to her elders. On my part, I advise you not to let mere sentiment +stand in the way of your future husband's advancement in life.' + +'I could not be so much indebted to you while I blame you in my heart. +Oh, uncle, if a young woman ought not to judge her elders, when she is +called upon to decide between them, she is obliged to consider what is +her duty! My choice was declared when Uncle Jack made to me the best +offer in his power, and Brian will not wish me to break my word to him, +to agree to behave towards him as though I possessed one tithe less of +the respect, love and admiration I have always felt for him!' + +Brian responded to this appeal gravely and resolutely. + +'While regretting the necessity to refuse so generous an offer, I think +Catherine is quite right. This family quarrel exists through no fault of +ours, so maybe it is not fair that we should suffer through it; but as +we have to choose a side in it, we are bound in honour to make the +choice in sympathy with our honest opinion of the right, not letting +ourselves be influenced by the gain or loss of any worldly advantage. In +Catherine's name, as well as in my own, sir, I express a hope that our +being unable to accept favours from you will not prevent our owning your +friendship.' + +The squire turned abruptly aside and crossed the room to the window, +where he stood for a few minutes gazing out. Land, houses, wealth, +position, ease,--all these things had been scorned once by young Loring +Carmichael; now they were once again refused by Catherine and her poor +journalist lover. Yet the squire had spent his lifetime in amassing +these goods,--had made great sacrifices for them, had toiled feverishly +in his youth, and plodded through his best years of manhood,--had +believed that wealth rules the world, and is the chief power over men +and women. This second blow was a hard one, but he was too proud a man +to wish to show chagrin. + +As he returned from the window he replied to Brian. + +'You must forgive me if I think you foolish. Having made you an offer, +for which you have been good enough to express gratitude, it would be +unreasonable were I to quarrel with you for refusing it. Your peculiarly +delicate conscience will interfere with your chances in life, I fancy; +but argument with an obstinate man is worse than useless.' + +Catherine approached him, and clasped his right arm with her two hands, +crying pleadingly: + +'Uncle, say you forgive me for refusing. I don't want to lose your +affection. I told you the other day that I sought you out for the sake +of your old kindness to me, with no idea that a penniless niece might be +helped by your money.' + +The ring of truth in her voice touched the old man's heart, making him +yet more regret her refusal of his offer. Here was honesty shining +behind those frank brown eyes, and he half repented having hedged his +plan round with conditions. But obstinacy, the fault of his old age, +prevented him from withdrawing one of his former words. + +'I forgive you, Catherine. I trust you may not suffer much through your +folly,' was his sole answer. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +The Unexpected Happens + + +Catherine's choice had been finally made, approved by Brian and +declared. They decided that there was no need to tell Uncle Jack of the +offer Uncle Ross had made them, not unless he were to question them in +such a manner that truth would be sacrificed by silence. And this did +not happen. The colonel was anxious to be assured that his brother would +not quarrel with them on account of Catherine's promise to regard Redan +Cottage as home, and when he was gratified by receiving this assurance +he believed that all was well. + +'Uncle Ross has forgiven me. I shall go to see him sometimes, just as I +have been doing,' she said. + +Those were delightful days during which Brian remained in Beverbridge. +Not only did Mrs. Arderne kindly invite him a great deal to her house, +but she allowed her companion so much liberty that the young people were +almost constantly in one another's company. + +'I'm afraid I haven't been of much service to you lately!' the girl +exclaimed penitently, when Brian had returned to town. + +'Nonsense, my dear!' was the little lady's prompt answer. 'You simply +obeyed my wishes, which happened to coincide with your own. I derived a +great deal of entertainment as well as pleasure from observing you and +your lover. Good gracious, what a weary-looking, thin fellow he is! But +his holiday did him good, and his face was rapidly gaining a peaceful +expression, which I hope it won't lose directly he sets to work again.' + +'Oh no, that expression has come to stay!' Catherine replied, with a +happy smile. + +'What do you mean, you perplexing young woman? How can you possibly +tell? Your Brian will begin to overwork himself again just as soon as he +gets an opportunity. And unless he does, thanks to your united folly, +you will never be able to get married.' + +'Brian's peace doesn't come from any cause that can be taken away from +him, dear Mrs. Arderne. Not even great fatigue, nor a breakdown in +health could rob him of it.' + +'Religion again, Catherine!' + +'Yes; trust in God. Oh, I wish you would rejoice with me over Brian's +new knowledge! I wish you would understand what true happiness is, you +dearest of employers!' + +Mrs. Arderne kissed the speaker, but shook her head. + +'I've not a religious mind, Catherine. It refuses to concern itself +chiefly with spiritual matters. The unseen thing called faith was always +a mystery to me. Of course, God must exist, since we do, and the earth +must have been made by Him; but if He wants us to love Him, He should +manifest Himself to us.' + +'So He does, in wonderful ways to those who seek Him. You would not have +Him speak intimately to persons who will not listen for His voice? In +countless mysteries He is always proving His power, in the things He has +created; but human beings turn away their eyes from the evidences of His +power and their own helplessness. Directly a soul begins to grope after +the light, light comes in plenty. It is those souls which do not wish +for faith which remain desolate for want of it!' + +'No wonder, say I, that some do not wish for it, since its possession +seems to entail upon them such extremes of self-sacrifice.' + +Catherine pondered this remark, Mrs. Arderne watching her face +meanwhile, and admiring the grace of her bended neck and the sweetness +of her smile. + +'Do you know, dear friend, I think all the better parts of ourselves are +in great sympathy with self-sacrifice' (this was the outcome of her +reflections), 'since love is the greatest joy we know, and love means +preferring another's happiness to our own. If a man loves a comrade, he +will go into dangers for his sake; if a woman loves her husband, even if +he be unkind to her, she will spend her life in trying to make his +happiness, and in shielding him from blame; and what will not some +mothers give up for the sake of their children? This seems to me to be +the truth of the matter--that self-sacrifice becomes happiness when it +is founded upon sufficient love. No doubt happiness follows any +renunciation for the sake of duty; but the other is the more human point +of view.' + +'And what lesson do you deduce from that truth, Catherine?' Mrs. Arderne +was interested in the study of her companion's opinions. + +'That love of God makes sweet and easy every sacrifice made for Him. +Christ, the great Model of self-renunciation, appeals for sympathy to +the better self within each one of us--which was created in us--the +breath of God in man. And it is only those who let God live within the +soul, who do not hinder His work, who desire His guidance and control, +who feel strong enough to be happy in a life which is all uncertainty. +The luckiest man in all the world may be destined for overwhelming +misery and pain to-morrow; it is only the man whose happiness consists +in obedience to God's will, and in hope for an eternity cf perfect joy, +whose peace neither fear nor suffering _can_ overwhelm!' + +'It is a pity that we do not have female clergy, my dear. If we did, you +might become a popular preacher.' + +'Oh, you are laughing at me! Am I too fond of talking about my opinions? +I was only trying my best to answer the questions you asked me.' + +'Yes, I know. I like to listen to you, though I wish you were less +convincing. My own life always looks a poor, dreary, selfish one, filled +with perils I've no courage to face, and my longing to be braver always +frets me, after I have heard some of your sermonettes, child. If great +misery or suffering were to overwhelm me to-morrow, I don't know what I +should do!' + +'You would lay your burden upon the Saviour, would you not, you +darling?' + +'How could I, after ignoring His existence so long as my life was +placid. Certainly He must be generous, or He would send trials at once +to test me, and to prove His power.' + +'If He did, it would only be in His mercy, in order to expose you to the +influence without which you will not seek the only lasting happiness.' + +Mrs. Arderne sighed. + +'I _will_ turn over a new leaf; you shall help me, dear. I have been +very much worried of late, because my husband wants me to rejoin him +soon in India, and I don't want to go out there. My babes must stay in +England. I will not have their health injured, perhaps permanently, by +my selfish longing to keep them with me; and how can I bear to part from +the darlings?' + +There was a tremor in the mother's voice. + +Catherine clasped the little woman in her arms, and laid her cheek +against her face. + +'Oh, you might have told me sooner of your anxiety! Would it not have +been easier to bear, if you had told some one, even me, who would have +sympathised?' + +'I knew you would say I must go. It _is_ my duty, I admit. Henry has let +me have a long holiday trip--first to Australia, now to England. I have +seen all my friends and relatives, and recovered my own health. With the +exception that it is terribly hard to leave my children, there is not +the slightest excuse for me to stay here.' + +'Is the climate _really_ so bad?' + +'For children, yes. They shall not grow up sickly because their mother +thought more of her own happiness than of their welfare.' + +'And you expressed a wonder, only a few minutes ago, that any one could +desire faith which might entail self-sacrifice! Oh, you dear, brave +little mother, even while you are lonely for want of your babies, will +you not be proud and glad because you have loved them better than +yourself? That is the way in which gladness comes from loving God. And +it is He alone who can comfort you, to whom you can pray for Ted and +Toddie; to whose loving care you can confide them, knowing that He can +guard them better even than your love could do, were you always close +beside them!' + +Mrs. Arderne laid her hand on her companion's shoulder, and indulged in +a hearty cry. + +'Oh, Cath!' she said at last, 'I _must_ learn to love God now, for I +shall be so lonely in India, and I must feel that I can do something for +the babies when I am far away from them. He won't be angry and refuse to +listen to me, will He, because so long as I was quite happy I did not +serve Him?' + +'The labourer who came at the eleventh hour into the vineyard received +the same pay as those who had borne the heat and labour of the whole +day. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but +that the world through Him might be saved.' + +After another silence Mrs. Arderne said: + +'When I go, you will take charge of Ted and Toddie? Promise me that, +Catherine. Whether you live in Redan Cottage, or in your husband's +home, you can give a shelter to my babes. There need be no difficulty +about money, for I can make a liberal allowance for their comfort, and +to do _something_ towards recompensing your care of them. This idea only +occurred to me the other day, after I received Henry's letter asking me +to come back soon to him, and then I felt I could have hugged you for +refusing to be adopted by your Uncle Ross!' + +'He did not want to adopt me, dear. I should have had a home of my own. +Still, perhaps he would not have liked me to bring Ted and Toddie on +constant visits to Carm Hall; and if I have charge of them, I will never +be parted from them.' + +'If? Tell me you _will_, Catherine. I can only be happy about them if I +leave them in your care.' + +'I promise I will have them, if Uncle Jack does not refuse, and he is +not likely to do that.' + +'You do not speak of Brian's opinion.' + +'There is no need. Brian will be glad for me to do anything in the world +that I can do to ease your anxiety. Besides, are you not making me a +most helpful offer? You are going to keep on your companion, letting her +live at home. She would be altogether delighted, were it not that she +will be parted from you!' + +'You must write to me, Cath, very, _very_ often; and you won't let the +babes forget me, will you? Oh, but I know you will not! Your salary must +be doubled, so that you are no expense to Uncle Jack, and we will decide +on a sum to pay for the board of Ted and Toddie. Dear child, it is a +comfort to me to feel that you will benefit by my misfortune. You'll be +able to save money, to help your lover, and in a few years Henry will +bring me back to England.' + +After a little more discussion of this plan, Mrs. Arderne sent Catherine +to take the news to Redan Cottage. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +Confidences and an Attempt + + +Only Agatha was at home this evening, and her joy may be imagined. + +'Oh, _Catherine_; you will come to live here, with those two dear +children? We shall have you, just as we planned to do! and you are +_glad_ to come!' + +A short while ago the little girl would have said, '_I_ shall have you,' +and would not have troubled to question whether or not the arrangement +would bring joy to others; but the influence of Catherine's teaching was +working within this heart. + +'Glad?--yes indeed, dearie!' + +'And you will talk to me every day about God, until He seems real and +near? Then I shall not be so dreadfully afraid of dying.' + +The colonel returned to the house early in the evening, to be greeted by +the radiant smiles of his niece and ward. The former rose from her low +seat by Agatha's couch, and advanced to meet him with her hands +outstretched, and cried,-- + +'I want to come "home" to stay, dear uncle. Will you have me?' + +It was sweet for her to see the joyous light that broke over his face as +he listened to her explanations, for she learned to understand more and +more how much he had wanted her. His earnest words of welcome were not +necessary, though they also were sweet to Catherine. Later, when he was +walking back to Woodley Villa with her, she learned a fact which robbed +her prospects of some of their joyousness, but which made her trebly +thankful that she was to live 'at home' for the future. + +They had reached the gate of Mrs. Arderne's house, when Uncle Jack laid +his hand detainingly on his niece's arm, and said,-- + +'Lassie, you know that my pension is a very small one, and that it will +die with me?' + +'Yes?' + +'When Agatha comes of age, if she lives, she will come into a tiny +fortune; but meanwhile, the sum that was allowed me for her maintenance +is barely sufficient.' + +'Are you afraid that I shall prove an extravagant housekeeper?' + +'No, dear,--no. But if I were to die,--what would become of Agatha?' + +'Could I take care of her,--I mean, would she suffer if I had to provide +for her altogether out of that sum which you say is barely sufficient?' + +'You could do it, lassie, but she would be a great tie.' + +'I will never desert her while she needs me. Even if Brian would not let +me have her with me, and you know that is an unnecessary supposition, I +could make arrangements for her to board and lodge somewhere quite near, +so that I could be often with her. You meant, did you not, that you +could not bear to think of her being left lonely, and obliged to think +and manage for herself? I would prevent that.' + +Uncle Jack smiled, and squeezed the arm he was holding. + +'God bless you, dearest,--you have taken a load of anxiety off my mind! +Yes, that _was_ all I meant. I couldn't endure the thought that my poor +Agatha might be utterly alone. Probably my brother would offer her a +home,--but I could not count upon that.' + +'But you--you are not going to die soon. I mean you--you are not ill?' + +'For a year past I have had need to be careful of myself. My heart is in +a wrong condition, so the doctor tells me. In fact, lassie, his warnings +simply amount to this, which we all believe of ourselves,--that I might +die any moment, if God so pleased.' + +For a while Catherine was speechless. Then she realised the truth which +the colonel's words had suggested--threatened his life might be, but it +could not end until the Creator had ordained that he should die. + +'No wonder you have been anxious about Agatha. Dearest uncle, do not +worry about her any more. Please God, we will keep you for many, many +years to come, but if He were to call you away from us, we would cling +to one another for all our lives.' + +'Lassie, lassie,--I didn't mean to bring tears into your eyes! You +mustn't be less brave than your words. We are all under orders,--and a +good soldier never lets himself fear the next command.' + +'No, I will remember your advice,--colonel.' + +There was a smile on her lips now, as she gazed lovingly into the old +man's face. + +'This is a secret from Agatha, of course--she is not strong enough yet +to bear burdens that can be spared her. You and I are more like +comrades, lassie, who can hearten and strengthen one another by +exchanging ideas and knowledge.' + +'I shall always ask God to help me to help you, then, Uncle Jack, for +you are naturally a brave fighter, while I am but a girl.' + +'Many a woman's courage has shamed a man! I remember hearing how, just +before the battle of Inkerman----' + +And then followed an anecdote, the telling of which brought fire into +the eyes of the old soldier, and a thrill into his voice. Catherine, +watching him, guessed that it was in this unconscious manner that he had +inspired poor Loring Carmichael with that love for the military +profession which had caused him to anger his Uncle Ross. + +An unconscious influence!--this it was for which Uncle Ross would not +forgive his brother, who daily grieved for the estrangement between +them! + +And though Loring had died young, had he not died honourably? Since +there must be soldiers, why, some must die young,--and all honour be to +them! Surely Uncle Jack had done Loring no great injury after all. The +young man had been spared the temptations of long life, and had gone to +find the reward which the King of Battles gives to all loyal-hearted +fighters. + +While hearing the anecdote of the battle of Inkerman, Catherine +Carmichael once more resolved to make every effort to bring about a +reconciliation between her uncles. + +'That was a fine story!' she cried, when the tale was ended. + +'Yes, lassie; women are very brave,--often. You have made me happy +to-night. I could say you have taken away my last trouble, if it were +not for Ross' anger against me. God knows I would give the rest of my +life, if possible, in exchange for the reinstating of the old regard we +had for one another! We were devoted to one another as lads and young +men, Catherine. There was never a quarrel between us,--and we were +friends, true, absolute friends, until Ross caught the gold fever, that +passion for money-earning and hoarding which ruins many men.' + +'That was the beginning of your estrangement?' + +'That began to put us out of sympathy; but I want him just as badly as +ever, lassie. After almost a lifetime of brotherly affection, this +separation is terrible. I think the tie that binds one man's heart to +another is tremendously powerful. I shouldn't wonder if Ross were +wishing for my friendship all the while almost as strongly as I long for +his; but his pride has grown very stubborn, and I did him an undoubted +injury, though I meant no harm.' + +'God will answer our prayers, Uncle Jack, dear. The reconciliation will +come some day.' + +'His will be done!' was the reverent answer. Then the colonel suddenly +remembered how long he had kept his niece standing talking by the +gate,--and they parted with a great hand-clasp,--'just like +comrade-soldiers,' as Catherine thought to herself. + +She ran indoors, and sought out Mrs. Arderne, who was in the nursery +putting away the toys which Ted and Toddie had been playing with before +they had been carried away to bed. + +'Cath! your face has a cloud over it!' + +'Oh, you quick-sighted friend!--Yes, I want to tell you about +something--about Uncle Jack.' + +The little woman drew a chair forward, and made the tall girl sit down; +then standing beside her, pillowed her brown head on her arm. + +'Let me hear all,--it is my turn to try to comfort you now!' + +Gradually the tale was told, and Catherine did not pretend not to be +deeply grieved about her uncle's illness. Warm-hearted, tender-natured +as she was, she could not fail to sorrow over the news he had told her +of his state of health, although she never lost consciousness of that +beautiful truth that God was taking care of him. + +'You see, God may mean to take him from me soon,' she explained, +clinging to the encircling arm. 'I cannot tell _how_ soon. God has a +right to do so. His decrees are always for our good, but--but--I love +Uncle Jack so truly, and I have only just found him! It seems so hard to +contemplate the possibility of having to give him up to God just yet. +You won't think me wicked, or a hypocrite, to be feeling like this, will +you?' + +'No, no, childie! Your religion would not be beautiful at all, if it did +not make allowance for natural human feelings. Resignation must be the +result of sorrow, mustn't it? Poor, dear old gentleman! I hope and trust +that he may be spared to you for a long, long time. And you know, dear, +threatened lives are often lengthy. You must take great care of him.' + +'Indeed I will! Do you not think that his trouble must be very bad for +him?--his regret about the quarrel? He told me to-night that he would +gladly give the rest of his life, if by so doing he could become friends +again with his brother.' + +'Can't you soften Mr. Carmichael's heart by telling him of his brother's +illness?' + +Catherine raised her face, and eagerly considered this suggestion. + +'Oh, if I only could coax him to make the least advance, or even to meet +Uncle Jack somewhere for a talk, the battle would be won! It is +dreadfully selfish of me to be sitting here crying, when I ought to be +forming plans of action and praying for success with them!' + +'Oh, you energetic young woman, you need not grudge yourself five +minutes' rest and indulgence in tears! Why, a good cry sometimes does a +girl a world of good, and acts as a tonic, so that she can work fifty +times better after it.' + +'I know, and you are such a dear to cry upon!' + +'We are to be parted so soon, Cath, that it is best for us to help one +another all we can now.' + +'Will it be very soon? Agatha asked me, but I told her that I did not +know.' + +'I have been making my plans while you were away, and I have decided to +leave England the week after next. Nurse can have board wages instead of +her notice, unless, indeed, you would like to keep her on. You are quite +welcome to do so, if you prefer it.' + +'There would be no room for her in Redan Cottage, and I would much +rather have Ted and Toddie all to myself. You do not imagine that I +regard a nurse's daily work as hard or derogatory, do you? Why, it is +some of the best and greatest labour a woman can possibly find to do!' + +'My children are extraordinarily lucky little people to be left in your +care, Catherine!' said the mother gratefully. + +'So you will be with your husband for Christmas?' + +'Yes,--poor Henry! I had contemplated inviting lots of friends down to +stay with me, and indulging in all the Yule-tide frivolities and +entertainments of the neighbourhood--dances, etc.; but my heart has +reproached me too strongly. Thanks to you, I'm not half as +pleasure-craving a butterfly as I used to be. Duty seems not only best, +but happiest. Once I have got over the parting with you and the chicks, +I know I shall be glad to be with Henry, in spite of the climate.' + +The two women kissed one another, and clung together, feeling that their +troubles had wrought a strong tie of sympathy between them. Then ensued +a long, thoughtful silence, which was broken at last by Catherine's +earnest, low-toned voice, saying,-- + +'Do you remember the words of Jesus Christ to Simon Peter: "I have +prayed for thee that thy faith fail not; and when thou are converted, +strengthen thy brethren"? I have always thought that so touching an +instance of our Lord's mercy! For He knew that Peter was about to deny +Him, yet He prayed that in sin he might not lose his faith, but, in +spite of his errors, come to be a teacher of others. Dearest of +friends, I am only an ignorant, sinful creature, but if we ask God to +help me, He will teach me how to watch over and train Ted and Toddie, so +that they may not suffer for want of their mother's presence.' + +'Cath,--teach them to be like yourself, and I shall be more than +satisfied!' + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +Good-bye + + +Catherine wrote two long letters next morning--one to Brian, the other +to Uncle Ross--to acquaint them with her new prospects. She concluded +the letter to her uncle in this way:-- + + 'I shall be sorry if my going to live at Redan Cottage displeases + you, but I know you will be glad for me to do anything I can to + serve my kind friend, Mrs. Arderne,--and remember, you promised not + to quarrel seriously with + + 'Your affectionate niece, + + 'CATHERINE CARMICHAEL.' + +In the course of the same day she received his reply, brought down to +her by a groom. Her uncle assured her of his esteem for Mrs. Arderne, +and his unalterable affection for herself, and expressed satisfaction +that the proposed change in her circumstances would be of pecuniary +advantage to her. Redan Cottage was not so much as mentioned, nor was +Uncle Jack nor Agatha. + +Brian's reply, which was lengthy, greatly comforted Catherine. Not only +did he thoroughly approve Mrs. Arderne's plan, but he sent such earnest +sympathy, combined with encouragement, on the subject of the colonel's +state of health, that his promised wife felt that she possessed in him a +consoler upon whose perfect understanding and stable judgments she could +always rely. And, in advising her to hope for success in her efforts to +effect reconciliation, he alluded to 'your happy faith, which you have +taught me to share.' + +During the following days Uncle Jack and Mrs. Arderne, Agatha, and the +children, met many times, and inaugurated friendships, greatly to +Catherine's delight. + +'That old man is a hero and a darling!' the vivacious little lady told +her companion one evening, after they had spent some hours at Redan +Cottage. + +'Yet you once wanted me to give up his friendship, to refuse his offer, +to practically behave as though I did not love him, and all for the sake +of Uncle Ross's money!' + +'Cath, don't throw my past folly in my face! I didn't know your uncle +then, and I felt sure you were championing the one because he was the +poorer,--out of a mingling of quixotic chivalry and obstinate pride.' + +'What is your opinion of my poor little Agatha?' + +'I don't like her--I've not advanced far enough in the study or practice +of universal charity to feel sure that I love her, as we are told to +love all men! As for loving her specially, as you seem to do, that is +quite out of the question for me,--a thing far beyond the bounds of +possibility.' + +'She only shows you her outward self,--the bad manners and forgetfulness +of others of a spoilt child; if she had shown you her heart, with all +its pathetic longings, fears, and affections, all its contradictory +beauty and ugliness, you would be just as fond of her as I am.' + +'I can't think so. The only reason why I feel the least tenderness +towards her is the fondness she shows for my babies.' + +'The more you see of her the faster will grow that tenderness. She is +one of the many girls who suffer countless deprivations on account of +their unconciliatory manners, and who remain lonely and morbid because +no one ever loves them well enough to gain their confidence.' + +'But supposing there seems nothing worth loving?' + +'That can't ever be--not to a person who sees God's +handiwork--something, therefore, of God's own beauty--in every human +face,' said Catherine. + +Before the day came for Mrs. Arderne's departure from Beverbridge, she +had become genuinely interested in Agatha, and much more friendly +towards her. Ted and Toddie, with the impulsiveness of their youth, had +forced their passage into Agatha's love. 'We only just wanted to be nice +at first, 'cause we was sowwy for you, 'cause you can't get up,' Ted +announced once; 'but now we weally loves 'oo.' + +And after a speech of this description, delivered by a truthful, +confiding, kissable urchin six years of age, and echoed by his more +demure but equally kissable sister, what could Agatha's pride do but +yield? She was always happy, even when suffering pain, if Ted and Toddie +were playing about the room, running up to her couch every few minutes +to ask her opinion or advice, or to bestow a 'weal good cuddle' upon +her. + +'Muvver, you've _no_ idea how _vewwy_ nice Ag'tha is,' declared Toddie. + +Ted one evening determined to break the ice between his mother and +Agatha, and proceeded to act upon his intention with his usual +all-subduing bluntness. + +'Ag'tha,' he announced, 'you like muvver, don't you? and muvver, you +like Ag'tha, don't you? So s'pose you just kiss one anover an' be fwends +ever afterwards?' + +The kiss was given, laughingly; indeed, it could not well be refused. +Agatha wondered if Ted were right, if Mrs. Arderne did really like her; +and this thought made her manner gentle and timid, the consequence of +which was that the child's surmise was proved accurate, even though it +had been a mistake at first. + +The time for the mother's departure arrived all too rapidly. She had +superintended the fitting up of Ted and Toddie's nursery in Redan +Cottage, had found out, with pride, that the little people were already +beloved by all the household, and knew that they were certain to be +quite happy with Catherine. Perhaps her heart suffered a few pangs +because of her knowledge that they would have grieved far more, had it +been Catherine who was obliged to leave them; but this reflection she +resolutely put away from her, as one likely to encourage selfishness. +After all, the fact was not strange. It was Catherine who had appealed +to the souls of the babies, taken notice of their young emotions, +studied their characters, helped and consoled them in their troubles; +she, the mother, had petted them egregiously when they pleased her, and +banished them without remorse when their prattle had tired her. By +assiduously caring for their health, she had imagined that her duty had +been fully done, but now, when it was too late, she realized that even +small children should be taught to respect the justice of praise and +blame, punishment and reward, and that they turn naturally with the +greatest affection to those who appeal to their generosity. While +Catherine had taught them 'Be good, or you will grieve your loving +Father in heaven, who sees you every minute of the day and night, who is +sorry when you are naughty, and glad when you are trying to please Him,' +Mrs. Arderne had ruled by alternate bribes and threats, such as, 'If you +are naughty, you shall not have that picture-book I promised you,' or, +'_Do_ be good, Ted and Toddie, then you shall have those nice chocolates +out of the cupboard.' + +Often and often had Ted's spirit failed to be subdued by these means; he +had been known to answer, 'Don't care! do wivout choc'lates'; but a few +minutes' talk with Catherine had never been found to result in anything +but meekness and repentance. + +It was the old story--when worldly measures proved worthless, God's love +produced wonders. + +The day of farewells came at last, after a few days which had seemed to +lag because they had been filled with sorrow. Mrs. Arderne was to start +very early for London, so the parting with Ted and Toddie was a silent +one. Bending over them where they lay happily asleep in their cots--Ted +pouting and Toddie smiling seraphically--the mother would not waken them +to gratify herself at their expense. 'It's best that they don't know,' +she whispered, 'for they would cry, though you could soon comfort them.' +Then she kissed the rosy cheeks, laid her hands on the golden head and +the brown one, and let Catherine lead her out of the room. + +'Oh, Cath, Cath, be good to them!' + +'You know I will, dearest.' + +'Don't let them forget me. Try to make them remember their mother's good +points only, if she has any. I have not been the best of mothers, but it +was through ignorance; and, please God, I'll learn all about Him, so +that the children may not find me wanting in sympathy when I come home +to them.' + +'Pray for them night and morning, just when you feel sure they are +saying their prayers and asking God to bless "muvver."' + +'Oh, their dear little lisps! They won't be babies any longer when I see +them again, my darlings!' + +This was the worst parting; though the little woman clung to Catherine +at the last moment in the railway carriage, and felt, as she owned, that +she could scarcely bear to let her go, the mother's sorrow was naturally +the stronger, as was proved by her last words. + +'Be good to them, Cath, take care of them.' + +As the girl returned alone to the villa, to superintend the removal of +herself and the children to Redan Cottage and to part with the nurse, +she was conscious of a feeling of dread at the responsibility she had +adopted, as well as of a loneliness due to the loss of her friend; and +it was only by means of prayer that she regained courage. + +Not until Ted and Toddie were installed in their new home did Catherine +break the news to them of their mother's departure. + +'_Oh, Carr, she's not gone'd?_' + +The pathetic cry, the startled look went straight to the girl's heart. + +'Ted, she is coming back again!' she cried, clasping him to her breast, +'and you must try ever so hard to grow good, wise, and clever, that she +may be really proud of her boy!' + +Toddie sat down on the floor and began to weep, refusing utterly to be +comforted until she had had her cry out, when she displayed healthy +curiosity regarding her new doll's cradle, her mother's parting gift. + +Ted had by far the more affectionate disposition, and grieved trebly as +much as his sister, as Catherine had expected. He tried to hide his +unhappiness, even from her, until night, when she found him sobbing +pitifully in the dark, and had to spend a long while in endeavouring to +soothe him. + +At last he cried himself to sleep in her arms. + +It was many days before the little fellow ceased to fret, and at one +time Catherine began to fear for his health; but she and Agatha managed +him so adroitly that he was surprised into laughing over a new game one +evening, and after that laugh his spirits gradually returned to him. + +'His mother will cry over the letter I have sent her, describing Ted's +way of bearing his first big sorrow,' said Catherine to Agatha; 'but +they will be tears that will do her heart good.' + +Toddie was quite placid again by this time, and was becoming the idol of +all but Agatha and Catherine, who could not help loving Ted best, though +they tried to show no preference. + +'Uncle Jack' was the tiny girl's favourite friend, and he spent most of +his leisure in her company, which never failed to cheer him. + +How greatly he was in need of cheering, Catherine now began to discover. +She loved him so well that her power of character-reading was greatly +aided in his case. When Agatha thought him merely tired, Catherine knew +that he was dejected; when he was laughing aloud over his games with the +children, Catherine saw the weary look in his eyes, detected a wistful +cadence in his voice, and knew that he was thinking of the quarrel which +was as a dark shadow over these years of his old age. + +Morning and night, at family prayers, a petition was offered up for the +reconciling of all family feuds, the forgiveness of injuries between +friends, the health and happiness of relatives. And one day some time +after Christmas the colonel turned to those around him, saying simply:-- + +'This is the anniversary of the day when I and my brother Ross +quarrelled, when he told me we could live together no longer. Will you +all pray silently for his welfare, here and hereafter, and for our +reconciliation, if God in His mercy wills it? I know I have always +prayed aloud for this before, in other years; but to-day--my courage +fails me.' + +'Catherine, if I should die suddenly,' he said when next alone with his +niece, 'I trust to you to tell Ross I have never borne him any ill-will, +and that I hope to meet him in the kingdom where all the secrets of +men's hearts will be made plain, and where the God of love reigns for +ever and ever.' + +'I promise to bear your wish in mind, dearest uncle,' was her answer. + +And she resolved that not another day should pass before she made one +more attempt to soften her other uncle's heart and overrule his pride. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +The Fate of a Letter + + +Next morning dawned fair. Catherine was astir early, as was her custom; +but, instead of writing letters, devoted all her time to meditating upon +her resolution to plead with Uncle Ross. These meditations were +interspersed with earnest prayers, and with a study of those parts of +the Bible which she thought would best help her in her task. + +'I must go to work very humbly,' she told herself, 'or else I may make +some serious mistake, and maybe increase instead of lessening Uncle +Jack's trouble. If I remember all the time that no action of mine can be +the least use unless God helps me, then I am not likely to do harm.' + +Her desire to make another effort on Uncle Jack's behalf was just as +strong by morning light as it had been the preceding evening, but the +difficulties in the way of success looked more colossal. What could she +say, that would not be mere repetition of all she had already said? +Nothing, except that now she could plead for the reconciliation to take +place because the colonel's life was in danger. And if Uncle Ross did +not care sufficiently for his brother to be touched by this news, +influenced by the dread lest the quarrel should continue until death, +there was no strong argument upon which the pleader could fall back as a +last resource. + +But surely, surely Uncle Ross _would_ care! The lonely old man, +surrounded by riches and comforts, _must_ be longing all the while for +the brotherly love he had cast away, and repeatedly refused to welcome +back again! + +Catherine's warm heart glowed with affection for all who were good to +her, but more especially for those to whom she felt drawn by the tie of +sympathy; and she could not believe that a brother could possibly +continue to refuse to clasp a brother's hand, nor that any one could +long withstand the gentle fascination of Uncle Jack's sincerity. + +The more she prayed and meditated, the more hopeful did she become. +She even found herself smiling over the contemplation of a +dream-picture--the possible result of the efforts she was planning--of +the brothers meeting once again as friends, not foes, and trying to +outdo one another in their expressions of sorrow for the years of +misunderstanding. + +'Uncle Ross is generous at heart, I feel sure he is!' she thought. 'It +is only, as Uncle Jack told me, that he has allowed his business career +to spoil his outward character--he has grown too fond of money--hard, +calculating, and cynical. But, in spite of his wealth, he is unhappy and +lonely--he has come to regard his life as a failure. He will welcome the +friendship and unmercenary devotion of the brother who has never ceased +to sorrow for the loss of his regard!' + +Before going downstairs to breakfast Catherine woke and dressed the +children and listened to their prayers. + +They clung round her and begged for a 'talk,' and this too she gave +them--a quaint little morning homily--dealing with the probable events +of the day, containing a promise to have a real, long game of play with +them in the evening, to make up for leaving them with Agatha until +dinner-time. + +'You will be dear, good little people, will you not, so that I may go to +see Uncle Ross quite happily, without worrying about having left you at +home?' + +Ted laughed wickedly, but was instantly rebuked by Toddie. + +'Naughty boy not to pwomise at once! _I'll_ be good, Carr dear, but I +can't keep Ted fwom bein' bad.' + +'Ted will not break his word to me, I am certain of that,' said +Catherine, gravely regarding the mischievous-looking urchin. + +'That's why didn't want to pwomise,' explained the rebel. 'Feels naughty +this mornin'.' + +'Come and kiss me.' + +This invitation could not be resisted. In a second he had scrambled on +to her knee, was clasping both his fat little arms round her neck, and +showering kisses upon her cheeks and brow. + +'Oh, Ted, you do not wish to vex our good God, and to worry your own +Carr, do you?' + +'_Ni-ever!_' cried Ted with emphasis. 'Only wanted to play pwanks, go +an' tease Hawwiet in the kitchen, an' make Ag'tha let me do everything I +like best!' + +'You will do none of those things,' announced Catherine firmly. + +Ted, scarcely believing she could be angry, yet awed by the decided +tone, gazed up at her, asking,-- + +'_Why_ won't I?' + +'Because you love me, Ted. I cannot have that which _I_ like best, if +you are determined to try to please yourself this morning. I shall have +to stay at home to take charge of you, if you mean to be naughty.' + +'An' you _weally_ want to go to see that howwid old man?' + +'Oh, Ted,' put in Toddie the virtuous, 'you _are_ a wicked, bad boy +to-day! I wonder Carr has any patience wiv 'oo.' + +'I shall be _very much_ disappointed if I cannot go to Carm Hall.' + +Ted meditated for a minute, then he laughed delightedly,-- + +'Then I'll save all the pwanks up!' he announced. 'I promise dweffully +solemnly that I'll be won'erful good all the times you'se away, Carr +lovey!' + +When Catherine, having completed her conquest over Ted's mischievous +longings, ran downstairs to breakfast, she found a letter awaiting her. +It proved to be from her Melbourne cousin George, to whom she had +written so long ago asking him for news of the last hours of poor Loring +Carmichael. + +Robert was shovelling away at the fire, and Harriet was laying the meal, +so after a few words to them Catherine slipped away into the garden to +read the long letter in peace. + +She was not in the least cold, though the January air was fresh, as she +paced round and round the narrow gravel walk which surrounded the small +lawn. + +Her cheeks were glowing with a healthy colour, and her brown hair, +having just been rumpled by that naughty Ted, was blown in bewitching +locks and curls about her brow. + +There was a happy smile of pleased expectation on her lips as she began +to read, but it faded away and was replaced by a look of anxiety and +grief long before she had finished the letter. + +After a few unimportant sentences George Carmichael wrote:-- + +'I know that I ought to have answered your letter long ago, and I should +have done so, had I been certain how much I was justified in telling you +about poor Loring. You say you are in a position to make use of any +information I can send you, but my knowledge seems to me to be of a kind +which, if shared with our uncles, would only increase their quarrel, not +lessen it. Loring dictated two letters before he died, which I wrote and +despatched as he desired--the one to Uncle Ross, the other to Uncle +Jack. They were addressed to Carm Hall. As he was able to write through +me, he did not give any verbal messages when he was dying. Have you +never heard of these letters? It is not possible, is it, that Uncle Jack +never received his? There! that question is as bad as a lie, so please +consider it scratched out. I know, by something you said in your last +letter to me, that Uncle J. can't have received it. These are the facts +of the case. Loring was offered his choice between giving up his +intention to be a soldier, or accepting an income of £2000 a year, with +the prospect of inheriting almost all Uncle Ross's fortune. This sounds +straight enough, but it was not straight, for he was bound over not to +tell Uncle Jack of the bribe offered. Uncle J. thought he was choosing +simply between the army and an office stool. Uncle Ross offered him +money down, and a life of idleness, spent where he pleased; in fact, +there was nothing he would not have offered in order to buy out his +brother's influence. When Loring lay dying he considered himself freed +from that promise of secrecy which he had made for his lifetime, and he +wrote to Uncle Jack telling him how Ross had acted. He also explained +that he had left home without any farewells, in order to leave them free +to forget him, the cause of their quarrel, and because he was indignant +at the secrecy, which seemed dishonourable, of the offer made him. +"You," he wrote, "would have scorned to privately bribe me, had you +possessed my other uncle's wealth. I chose to follow my own wish in the +matter of choosing a profession, since I felt that, by attempting to +bribe me, Uncle Ross had absolved me from all obligation due to his +former care of me. Until he made that offer, which few young men would +have refused, I was trying to subdue my longing for a soldier's life, +that I might repay him for making me his heir. You never tried to +influence me; you only told me true stories of a soldier's life. _It was +entirely owing to Uncle Ross's secret persuasion that I left home to +enlist._" There, my dear Catherine, as nearly as I can remember, those +were the words poor Loring wrote to Uncle Jack by my hand in that +letter which it is clear enough Uncle Jack has not received. My own +opinion is, that it reached Carm Hall after the colonel's departure, and +that Uncle Ross (knowing some of its contents through Loring's letter to +him) purposely refrained from forwarding it. If my suspicion is correct, +the news I send you will surely increase the family quarrel rather than +lessen it; but I place it in your hands to be used or not used, as you +judge best. My opinion is that a reconciliation will never take place, +if it cannot come to pass without a confession by the squire. It is more +often the person who has done the injury, not the person injured, who +refuses to forgive. If you ever wish for it, Catherine, I can send you a +copy of Loring's letter to the colonel, for I have at home the rough +notes for it--the words that his failing breath dictated to me.' + +[Illustration] + +'Catherine, dear!' + +Uncle Jack had come to the open window of the dining-room, and was +calling her in from the garden. + +'Coming!' + +There was no time to think over the letter she had been reading, and she +must laugh and talk over the breakfast just as though no news had come +to startle her. + +Catherine made a brave effort to appear unconcerned, and, luckily, +Agatha was in a cheerful, unobservant mood; and the colonel, though he +noticed that his niece's merriment was rather strained, guessed that she +was tired, or maybe disappointed at having received no communication +from Brian. When prayers had been said, and Agatha carried back to the +couch in her own little sitting-room and given charge over Ted and +Toddie, who promised to be 'beautifully good all mornin',' Catherine was +free to put one or two careful questions to her uncle. She went to him +where he was sitting before his writing-table, and clasping his arm, +knelt by his side, gazing affectionately into his face. + +'Dear, I--have been thinking a great deal about poor Loring this +morning.' + +'Ah! my dear boy! He was the best of lads; so honourable and +high-spirited!' + +'Did he send you a message--or a letter--before he died, dear?' + +'No, not a word. But you must not blame him for that, lassie. He may +have had no time, have remained unconscious until the end; or I +sometimes think he may have learned to regret his adoption of the +profession, since for a gentleman a "private's" life is a hard one, and +he may have felt anger against me for having caused him to become a +soldier.' + +'But you did not directly counsel him to enter the army, did you, +uncle?' + +'No, no; I never counselled him to refuse to obey the wishes of the +uncle to whom he owed all. I only pleaded with Ross for him, and no +doubt I talked to him a great deal about the service--I could not help +that; and he used to question me so eagerly. Yet I have no doubt that I +was to blame, as Ross says I was, for the lad's rebellion and decision.' + +Catherine rose, and kissed the old man's forehead before leaving him. + +'I do not believe that Loring ever regretted his decision or ceased to +be grateful to you, dear uncle,' she said softly. + +She thought over George's letter while she walked the four miles to Carm +Hall; but her resolution had sprung into being directly she had heard +the colonel's self-blaming answer to her questions. She was indignant +now on his behalf. Had the squire indeed kept back the dying lad's +letter to his best friend, the relative whom he had loved more than any +other living creature? If so, then the time had come for her to make a +bold attempt to force a reconciliation, unless she could persuade Uncle +Ross to yield for reason's, for honour's, and for pity's sake. And +Uncle Jack had said, 'I would gladly give the rest of my life, if +possible, in exchange for the reinstating of the old regard we, Ross and +I, had for one another. I want him just as badly as ever, lassie!' + +Oh, supposing the wrong were proved to have been done--and of this +Catherine could not have much doubt--if Uncle Ross would but ask for +pardon, how gladly, generously, would not Uncle Jack give it! + +'O my God, help me!' prayed the girl, as she hurried along the country +road. 'Without Thy aid I can do nothing. Help me not to judge others +harshly, to remember that I _can't judge_ of the strength of those +temptations to which others have yielded. Let me forget myself and my +own poor opinions; let me not speak angrily or foolishly; and if Thy +will does not forbid it, let me see my uncles true brothers again--Uncle +Ross forgiven by the man he has injured, as a prelude to being pardoned +by Thee!' + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +Catherine's Appeal + + +When Catherine Carmichael reached Carm Hall she found that a groom was +leading the squire's horse up and down the carriage drive. Her uncle +appeared at the hall door, booted for riding, just as she arrived at it; +but he smilingly welcomed her, and gave orders that the spirited bay +should be taken back to the stable. + +'I do not receive visits from you so often that I can afford to cut them +short, my dear,' he replied to her promise that she would not detain him +long. + +'Don't take me into the drawing-room,' she petitioned. 'I have a great +deal to say to you, uncle, and the library is so much more cosy. If you +treat me as a stranger, my courage will fail me, and I shall not be able +to find words in which to explain my reason for coming to-day.' + +He smiled. + +'Your wish is, of course, a command to me. I trust that nothing is +troubling you? Mr. North is not ill?' + +'No; the trouble does not concern Brian.' + +He wheeled the largest arm-chair near to the fire for her, and stood +beside her, looking down into her face. + +His figure was upright, his eyes keen, but the lines in his brow were +deeply cut, and his beard and hair were quite white. A fine old man, a +typical squire, with an autocrat's expression. + +Even while admiring her uncle, Catherine was remembering the secret +wrong he had done--the dishonouring small sins of which he had been +guilty. His proud air and haughty manner hid remorse and +self-condemnation; surely this must be so! + +'Your friend, Mrs. Arderne, is not ill either? The children cannot be +unwell, or you would not have left them.' + +'The troubles all concern Uncle Jack and--and you.' + +There was a great fear in her heart, and her voice trembled. Oh, if this +dread, this mastering weakness of will, were to continue, there would be +no chance of influencing this stern, self-possessed man by her words! In +that moment Catherine both despised and detested herself. + +But she had sought powerful aid; she had put her case into the hands of +her Heavenly Father, beseeching Him to plead her cause for her through +her own lips; and the remembrance of His mercy and goodness came back to +her mind just as she needed it most. With God's help, wonders and +miracles might be accomplished! + +At the mention of Uncle Jack the squire's frown had appeared. It was a +visible effort to him to show the unvarying courtesy he deemed due to a +woman when Catherine would speak of his enemy. + +'Forgive me if I say that you had better have chosen a different +confidant, if you wish to discuss affairs concerning my brother.' + +'No other confidant would do, and I knew you would not refuse to listen +to me.' + +'I am powerless to refuse a lady's request, when it is in my power to +grant it, when the lady is my niece, to whom I am attached, and when she +proffers the request under my own roof. I can only request her to desist +from making it.' + +'Uncle, I have such strong motives that I cannot yield my will to yours +this time!' + +He smiled cynically. + +'My dear Catherine, you have not exhibited any willingness ever to +consider my desires rather than your own!' + +A hot retort was just springing from her lips, but she restrained the +wrong impulse. + +'I am sorry, truly sorry, that I have not been able to please you. Had I +been in your favour, my task to-day would have been so much easier. +Uncle, let me stand beside you; I can talk better when I stand, and I am +tall enough to look right into your eyes! Don't be angry with me, dear! +You were never vexed with "little Catherine" in the old days. Do you +recollect one great argument we had about the necessity for men, as well +as women, to lead religious lives? I was only a child; it was not easy +for me to bear my part in that argument. I lost my temper, and behaved +very impertinently to you, I'm afraid, yet you were not angry--certainly +not the least bit sarcastic! When I apologised afterwards, you told me +you "liked my spirited defence of that which I believed right!"' + +The squire's expression softened, and he laid his hand on that small but +firm one which had stolen through his arm. + +'Are you preparing to lose your temper again, Catherine?' + +'No, I will try not to do so; I don't think I shall want to. Uncle Ross, +you have not the least idea how unhappy this family quarrel is making +your brother. He longs for your friendship, for the old affection +between you. He told me, only a little while ago, that he would gladly +give the remainder of his life in exchange for the reconciliation; only +God does not let His creatures bargain with Him in that way. I have come +here to-day to plead for Uncle Jack, not to begin by defending him. I +appeal to your sense of generosity first, to your memory of the love +that united you brothers in your childhood, youth, and young manhood.' + +'There is an insuperable obstacle against the proposed reconciliation.' + +Catherine watched his face as he spoke this quiet sentence. Yes, there +was the obstacle of his false pride. He would not confess himself in the +wrong; he could not endure the thought of humbling himself. The harsh +tone of voice, the fixed tension of the brows, the weary, cynical +smile--all these betokened the squire's sacrifice to his idol, Self. + +That he still cared for his brother Catherine felt certain. A warm +regard, the growth of years and years of intimacy, does not melt away in +a short time, nor can it be entirely obliterated by any quarrel. The +seeds of affection were springing ever fresh in a heart which would not +let love blossom and bear fruit. + +There was sadness in the words 'an insuperable obstacle.' + +'You wish that obstacle did not exist?' + +For a few minutes Ross Carmichael hesitated. He was reading his own +mind. Did he not regret that unworthy attempt to secretly bribe Loring +to reject Uncle Jack's influence? Did he not repent of the impulsive +hiding away of that last letter of Loring's--the deception of an instant +which had obliged him to practise deceit ever since? + +'Yes, Catherine, I regret the obstacle.' + +'And is it not in your power to overcome it?' + +Yes, it was, in two ways. Either the squire could confess the injury he +had done his brother, or he might make overtures of friendship without +ever owning the secret wrong. The first method was too distasteful to +his false pride; the second was impossible to a man whose honour had +been twice denied, but had never succumbed beneath the treatment. + +Call Jack brother, welcome him home, press his hand, live in his +company day after day, and all the while deceive him? No; the squire's +nature rebelled fiercely against this idea. + +'You will find me a--tolerably patient listener, my dear; but I refuse +to be "heckled,"' was his answer. + +'Forgive me, uncle! I am so much in earnest that maybe I am imprudent! +You know that I care very truly for you; that I care also for Uncle +Jack; and while I _know_ that he grieves for your friendship, I believe +you miss his presence here more than you will own. God gave you to one +another; let your warm affection be a joy to you; and now that you are +estranged you both are sorry for the loss of one another. Uncle Jack +tells me, "I long for Ross more than ever, now that I am growing old."' + +'Catherine, Catherine, for Heaven's sake desist from these appeals and +arguments, which have no respect for my feelings, but which are totally +useless!' + +'It is those feelings to which I wish to appeal. They have slept too +long; it is well for them to be roused!' cried the girl, clasping his +arm with both her hands. 'You will feel remorse and sorrow all the years +of your life, if Uncle Jack dies before you have made all the amends in +your power!' + +'_Dies!_' + +The squire's face had become ashen; his repetition of the word Catherine +had used betrayed the shock it had caused him. + +'_Dies!_' he repeated. 'John is my junior. The chance is that I die +before him.' + +'No, uncle; for his life is threatened; it might end any minute, so the +doctors tell him.' + +There was silence in the library for a while, only the fire flickered +and spluttered fiercely, and the heavy drops of a rain-storm dashed +against the windows. + +The squire stood erect, gazing straight before him, with not a change +of one muscle of his face. Yet no one, least of all Catherine, could +have seen that face without learning that a struggle and a grief were +tearing his heart. While he was silent he was looking into the far past, +to the childish days when Jack had been all-in-all to him, when his +affection for him had been of the loyal protecting order of the elder +for the younger; looking back to the youth of mutual aspirations after +higher things than worldly ambition, to the confidences of young +manhood, to the devotion for one woman, which had never separated them, +because for each it had been equally hopeless. How Jack had proposed, +after that sorrow, 'Let us keep together through life, you and I, Ross. +We shall always understand and respect one another's memories'! How the +promise had been kept, even when absence made letter-writing the only +method of communication! How nothing but the elder's change of +disposition had weakened the old tie! Money, money, money,--this had +become Ross's idol; in serving it he had lost touch with the finer +nature of his soldier brother, whose loyal, pure heart had remained +faithful. Then the episode of Loring Carmichael's adoption; their mutual +pride in the prospects of the clever lad who was to carry the old name +honourably into another generation, and keep the home and estate in +order. Then Loring's favouritism for Uncle Jack; the squire's growing +jealousy, and attempt to purchase his allegiance secretly. Later, +Loring's choice, Loring's departure; lastly, Loring's death, and the +concealed letter! + +No, not lastly, for years of estrangement had followed, beginning with a +mere quarrel which could easily have been made up, but which had been +sealed, as it were, by the squire's act of deception, that dishonouring +wrong to which he would not own. + +He saw himself in his true colours now, and was bitterly shamed by the +vision. + +But to be ashamed, and to own to the shame, were two different things. +He contrived to hide his emotion. + +'I am exceedingly sorry to hear of my brother's ill-health, Catherine. +Still, that does not efface the wrong he did me.' + +'What if I can prove to you that Loring was not influenced in his final +choice by Uncle Jack?' + +'I fail to understand how that could be. You never met--my nephew.' + +'No, uncle, but you have another nephew, who was his friend, who was +with him before his death, who wrote for him two letters of +farewell--one to you, one to Uncle Jack--my Cousin George in Melbourne.' + +The squire's expression changed again. He glanced anxiously into +Catherine's face. How much did she know? Was his wrong-doing to be +exposed, brought home to him by this penniless niece, who had refused to +sacrifice her sense of duty for the gain of a fortune?--this girl, whose +spirit he had admired in times past? + +It was too strange that she should humble him! Could he not think of any +way in which to make sure of her silence? + +No; for she was absolutely unselfish and honest. + +There was admiration for her in his mind, even while she was so calmly +defying him. Her truthful brown eyes did not falter beneath his glance; +her temper was not aroused. She was simply in earnest--doing battle for +Uncle Jack. + +He could not think how to answer her, until she spoke again, quietly: + +'I know _all_ about the quarrel, Uncle Ross. George has written to me. +The only thing I do not know is what became of Loring's letter to Uncle +Jack, for it was not delivered to him.' + +If Catherine had expected to break down the reserve of his manner, she +was disappointed. Ross Carmichael was bent upon enduring his position as +well as possible. + +'The letter came here after my brother's departure, and I omitted to +forward it. Had he sent for it at any time, he could have had it. It +lies in the locked drawer of a bureau in the hall.' + +'Will you let me take it to him?' + +'Certainly.' + +'Oh, uncle, George told me one sentence that is in it. Loring declared, +"It is entirely owing to Uncle Ross's secret persuasion that I left home +to enlist." Now that you know that Uncle Jack did not do you the injury +of influencing Loring to leave you, won't you forgive and be friends +with him again?' + +Catherine's voice was no longer calm. Her appeal was made in impassioned +tones, and her eyes were full of tears. + +The squire unclasped her hands from his arm and turned away. + +'If I am not mistaken, the--the position is changed between my brother +and myself. John will probably be indignant because I--did not trouble +to--to forward the letter. There was no absolute necessity for me to do +so; it was his affair that he left me and went to live by himself.' + +'Since you have wronged him, do you not wish to make amends to him?' + +'That will be done--at least, the wrong will be ended when you have +taken him the letter.' + +'No, uncle, for he cares far more for you than he ever cared for Loring. +He longs for your love again--your confidence. Will you not make some +advance to him, as he has made so many which you have ignored? Think--it +is in your power to make these later years of his life happy instead of +sad! Can you be so hard-hearted as not to do it?' + +The squire walked away to the window, where he stood, turning his back +upon his niece,--silently fighting with his feelings. + +Catherine watched him, and prayed. + +At last the answer came, in a voice unlike the squire's usual harsh +accents. + +'You shall take the letter, and you may tell John I--am sorry. I shall +be in Beverbridge this evening, at the club quite near you. You can send +for me if--if John wants me.' + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +As God Willed + + +'Let me be driven down, and let your carriage wait to bring Uncle Jack +back to you as soon as he has read Loring's letter. Don't you know him +better than to think that he will be content to wait to answer you until +this evening?' pleaded the girl, with an odd little choke in her voice. + +Her mission was almost accomplished, for there was not the least doubt +as to the nature of the reply one brother would make to the other. And +at that instant the unexpected happened. + +The library door opened, and the colonel himself stood on the threshold. +His gaze went past Catherine, to the tall, straight figure at the +window. + +'_Ross!_' + +'_John!_' + +The squire had turned; the two men stood looking at one another. The +younger advanced with his right hand outstretched: + +'Forgive me for coming, especially for forcing myself on you +unannounced. My excuse was a telegram for Catherine. James let me in. +Don't be angry with a faithful servant on my account. Ross, I've tried +before to make up the quarrel between us, but I have not tried _hard_ +enough. To-day I've been reproaching myself.' + +'God knows you have no cause, Jack!' + +The two right hands were clasped now. + +'I've been thinking a great deal about Loring, poor, dear fellow, and I +seem to have realised what a blow losing him was to you, Ross. You +wanted some one to be proud of, and he was worthy; and I, garrulous old +man that I was, persuaded him to long to be a soldier. It was a great +injury to you.' + +'Hush, John, you mustn't say so. I----' + +'I have come to speak my mind out. Let me do it. Have patience with me +just for a few moments. You refused my overtures towards reconciliation +a few times, Ross, and my pride kept me from offering any more. That was +where I was wrong--most wrong. I called myself a Christian, but my +conduct was utterly un-Christlike. _Pride?_ What is that between +brothers? We loved one another once, and it shall be no fault of mine if +our hearts are divided. And to-day I have been remembering the +exhortation, "Let brotherly love continue." Ross, if it is to end, it +shall not be by my fault. So I have come to ask your pardon for all the +ill I have ever done you, purposely or unconsciously.' + +'No, no, John. All the wrong has been mine. You will not want to ask my +pardon when you know all. I have deceived you, and----' + +Catherine heard no more, for she stole out of the room, leaving the +brothers together. + + * * * * * + +'And to-morrow we go home!' + +Agatha was the speaker. It was the evening of the same day, and she was +nestling in Catherine's arms. From the other little room across the hall +came the sound of voices. Uncle Jack and Uncle Ross were together there, +talking over the many memories they shared, making plans for their +future, agreeing to forget the past. + +'Yes,' agreed the elder girl, in the happiest of tones. 'You and I, Ted +and Toddie, even Harriet and Robert--we are all to leave the cottage for +the Hall. My dear little woman, your wish has come true. I am so very +glad.' + +'It is all your doing, Catherine. Oh, it is a lovely ending to the +family quarrel! I never saw guardian look as radiant as he does now. You +do believe I'm most pleased about that, don't you? I used to covet +comforts and money most dreadfully, but you've taught me to understand +how little joy they can give.' + +'You've grown a great deal wiser lately, dearie; but that is because you +have learned to love God.' + +'And I never should have known much about Him and His wonderful love for +us all, if you hadn't come to teach me, Catherine. Don't you feel proud +of all the good you've done? You've made me less horrid (I _was_ a +little wretch before you came). You've helped guardian to find peace in +religion; you've reconciled him and Uncle Ross; you've taken care of Ted +and Toddie, so that Mrs. Arderne can't be anxious about them. _When_ did +she say she was coming home?' + +'The telegram said, "Henry has been offered a good post. We come home in +a month's time."' + +'But you will live with us until you are married, won't you? You do not +mean to go back to be Mrs. Arderne's companion?' + +The squire and the colonel entered the room, arm-in-arm, and heard +Agatha's eager question. + +'My dear, Catherine has promised not to desert us,' said Uncle Ross with +a smile--'not until she marries. But as I mean Brian North to become +editor of _The Circle_ as soon as possible, her stay with us may not +last as long as we could wish for our own sakes.' + +'Oh, uncle, you _are_ good to me!' + +The squire turned to his brother. + +'Niece Catherine scarcely seems to know the value of the work she has +done for me, John. I am under an obligation to her which I can never +repay. Money is not of the immense value I believed it to be, my dear; +but I am thankful it can help you and Brian to be happy.' + +Catherine tried to express her feelings in words, but the task was a +difficult one. Her eyes were full of tears of joy as she looked from one +uncle to the other, as they stood side by side, smiling at one another. + +'God be blessed and praised for the mercy He has shown us, and the +manner in which He has taken away our trials!' said Uncle Jack. 'The +troubles are over for us all; it is well for us to remember the words, +"Let us love one another, for love is of God." Lassie, this is the +happiest day of my life!' + +'Even happier than the day when you first wore the Queen's uniform, +guardian?' asked Agatha. + +'Yes, dear,' answered the colonel. 'I was a young, untried fellow then. +It is when an old man, who has known sorrow, obtains his heart's desire, +that happiness is greatest. The light is dearer to those who have lived +in darkness.' + +'John, it was all my fault.' + +'No, no, Ross; we were both to blame.' + +Niece Catherine came forward and stood between them, radiantly smiling. + +'The past may be forgotten now, may it not, my dear uncles?' she asked. +'Since the family quarrel is dead, let it be buried.' + +'It is well for a man to remember his faults,' said Colonel Carmichael +firmly. 'I was un-Christian. I consider that my pride was----' + +'Nonsense, John!' interrupted the squire. 'As I have told you again and +again, the wrong was entirely my doing. The part of the quarrel _I_ +don't wish to forget is the fact that, after all, you came to +me,--though God knows I didn't deserve you should do it.' + +Niece Catherine listened to this friendly altercation, and knew that the +brothers would continue to loyally endeavour each to bear the greater +load of blame, and saw by their faces that their hearts were filled with +emotion which, being men, they felt obliged to master, the old quarrel +being mutually, forgiven, the old regard being not only renewed, but +increased. Her 'mission,' as Mrs. Arderne had named it, was indeed +accomplished; but she was certain that Uncle Jack had earned all praise +for the happy consummation. + +But Agatha, silent upon her couch, was remembering some verses of a poem +she had read that morning, and applying them to Catherine, her +heroine:-- + + 'Who toil aright, for those + Life's pathway, ere it close, + Is as the rose. + + The spires of wisdom stand, + Piled by the unconscious hand, + From grains of sand. + + And pleasure comes unsought, + To those who take but thought + For that they ought.' + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Niece Catherine, by Mary Hampden + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NIECE CATHERINE *** + +***** This file should be named 36880-8.txt or 36880-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/6/8/8/36880/ + +Produced by Delphine Lettaum, Mary Meehan and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Niece Catherine + +Author: Mary Hampden + +Release Date: July 28, 2011 [EBook #36880] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NIECE CATHERINE *** + + + + +Produced by Delphine Lettaum, Mary Meehan and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div class="figleft"> +<img src="images/cover.jpg" alt=""/> +</div> + +<div class="figright"> +<img src="images/illus1.jpg" alt=""/> +</div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h1>NIECE CATHERINE</h1> + +<h2>By MARY HAMPDEN</h2> + +<h3>AUTHOR OF 'ALISON'S AMBITION' 'THE GIRL WITH A TALENT' 'STRANGER +MARGARET' ETC.</h3> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/deco.jpg" alt=""/> +</div> + + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">LONDON<br /></span> +<span class="i0">THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY<br /></span> +<span class="i0">56 PATERNOSTER ROW AND<br /></span> +<span class="i0">65 ST PAUL'S CHURCHYARD<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Butler & Tanner,<br /> +The Selwood Printing Works<br /> +Frome, and London.</span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span></p> + +<h2>Contents</h2> + +<p> +<a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I. <span class="smcap">The Heroine</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II. <span class="smcap">Uncle Ross</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III. <span class="smcap">Uncle Jack</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV. <span class="smcap">Catherine's Resolution</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V. <span class="smcap">An Unshaken Resolution</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI. <span class="smcap">A Sunday's Experiences</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII. <span class="smcap">A Ray of Light</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII. <span class="smcap">The Coming of Catherine's Betrothed</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX. <span class="smcap">An Important Offer</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X. <span class="smcap">The Unexpected Happens</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI. <span class="smcap">Confidences and an Attempt</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII. <span class="smcap">Good-bye</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII. <span class="smcap">The Fate of a Letter</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV. <span class="smcap">Catherine's Appeal</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV. <span class="smcap">As God Willed</span></a><br /> +</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p> + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I</h2> + +<h3>The Heroine</h3> + + +<p>'Catherine!—<i>Catherine!</i>'</p> + +<p>Mrs. Arderne stood at the foot of the staircase, looking upward, and +calling her companion. Though her voice sounded impatient there was an +amused smile on her face, because she could hear merry laughter from the +night-nursery, where 'Catherine' was helping nurse to put Ted and Toddie +into bed.</p> + +<p>The last call produced the effect desired. A tall slim young woman came +running downstairs, explaining and apologising.</p> + +<p>'Oh, I am really very sorry! Have you been trying to make me hear? I +didn't know that you were calling, not until a minute ago; and then Ted +was on my lap, and made himself <i>so</i> heavy when I tried to lift him back +into his cot!'</p> + +<p>'You spoil my children.'</p> + +<p>The mother was still smiling. Catherine laughed aloud, and very +musically, the laugh of a girl to whom people had always been kind.</p> + +<p>'If you seriously meant that accusation, Mrs. Arderne, I should have to +try to prove my innocence; but as I am sure you didn't, I will only tell +you what a darling Ted has been to-night. He said his hymn right +through, and afterwards composed a dear little prayer for "mother's +wicked headache to be taken right away." Now could I refuse to tell him +about <i>Jack and the Beanstalk</i> after that?'</p> + +<p>Catherine was trying to smooth back her brown hair with her hands as she +spoke, for several curly locks were fluttering<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> round her equally brown +eyes, Toddie having 'rumpled dear Carr's head all up,' as the little +girl herself would have expressed it.</p> + +<p>'Kiss the tiny fellow "good-night" for me, dear,' said Mrs. Arderne, +leading the way into the villa drawing-room. 'I called you down that you +might fasten this flower in my dress, your fingers are so deft.'</p> + +<p>After having performed the task Catherine stood back a few paces to +survey the effect.</p> + +<p>'You look delightful,' she remarked. 'But I'm not certain that it's a +"companion's" place to tell you so!'</p> + +<p>'The remark might be flattery. "Companions" are supposed to flatter.'</p> + +<p>Catherine made a grimace. This was a bad habit she had, a trick copied +unconsciously from her boy cousins in Melbourne.</p> + +<p>'I won't ever be a first-rate "companion" then. Mrs. Arderne, it was +tremendously good of you to take me, to give me a home, and a salary. +Until I came to England I hadn't the least idea how ignorant, and +peculiar, and—and—and independent a creature I am!'</p> + +<p>'You were just going to use a stronger term of opprobrium!'</p> + +<p>'Yes, dreadful slang. I checked myself for once, just because I am in +real earnest. Oh, I <i>am</i> grateful to you! I want to learn to be of use +to you,—to repay some of your goodness to me; please teach me to be a +satisfactory companion in every way but that of flattery!'</p> + +<p>There were tears sparkling in the brown eyes now, and a sweet pleading +expression on the whole face. Mrs. Arderne, being a woman of the world, +did not show how much she was touched, and answered laughingly,—</p> + +<p>'Catherine, you are beautiful! Why did you spoil all my best plans for +you by getting engaged to Brian North?'</p> + +<p>A series of dimples played round the girl's lips. She put<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> her hands +behind her back, dropped a curtsey, after the manner of charity children +before a benefactress, and blushed.</p> + +<p>'Please, ma'am, I think it was because—I love him.'</p> + +<p>'Romantic nonsense! My dear, you could as easily have loved another man. +Mr. North is not a paragon of every virtue and charm. He happened to +love you, and so, soft-heartedly, you tried to pay him back for love, +just as you want to pay me back because I offered you a home when you +were in want of one.'</p> + +<p>'You didn't try to patronise me. You came to me, and spoke like the dear +true woman you are, as a sister might have spoken; and you burdened +yourself, or rather let me burden you, with an untrained, wild, +hot-tempered girl, an individual who knew simply nothing of etiquette, +whose manners were all learned in the Bush! That is a gentle description +of me,—you know it is! And I don't believe you needed a companion at +all!'</p> + +<p>'I have learned to appreciate the advantages of possessing one, then. +But seriously, Catherine, have you no expectations at all? Who is this +uncle, who lives in this neighbourhood, to whom you were writing this +afternoon?'</p> + +<p>'Uncle Ross, or Uncle Jack—which do you mean? I wrote to them both. Oh, +Uncle Ross, I suppose, for he is the elder. He is Ross Carmichael, Esq., +of Carm Hall, Beverbridge, and he used to be very nice to me when I was +a child. He and Uncle Jack came out to Australia once, years ago, before +they quarrelled, and I have written to them every Christmas ever +since.... Uncle Jack was quite a darling!'</p> + +<p>'Why did they quarrel?'</p> + +<p>'About an adopted nephew, named Loring Carmichael, whom they both loved. +Uncle Ross wanted to make a business man of him; Uncle Jack wished him +to go into<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> the army. I never heard quite the rights of the matter, for +I never met Loring, though my Melbourne cousins knew him well; in fact, +one of them was in Egypt at the time he was. He became a soldier, but +only a "private," for he enlisted; he left home hoping that his absence +would heal the feud between his uncles.'</p> + +<p>'Whereabouts <i>is</i> Carm Hall?'</p> + +<p>'I asked the stationmaster when we arrived this afternoon, and he said, +"It's four miles straight up the road from Woodley Villa, miss." So I +shall walk up to see my uncles to-morrow morning, with your consent. +Four miles are nothing!'</p> + +<p>'Since they have quarrelled, they maybe living in different places, not +in the old home.'</p> + +<p>'Oh, I hope not. The stationmaster said "Yes," when I asked if they were +both well. He looked as though he wanted to talk a lot about them, but +of course I could not allow him to gossip about my own relatives.'</p> + +<p>'But is the adopted nephew dead? There is the "fly" at the door, and I +must go, but I want to find out first what expectations you have, my +dear. Tell me, in a few words!'</p> + +<p>Catherine's face was quite grave now.</p> + +<p>'Yes, he died in battle, in the third year after he left home. Uncle +Ross means to leave all his fortune to charities, and Uncle Jack never +had any money to speak of, so my "expectations" are <i>nil</i>, Mrs. Arderne, +dear. I shall earn my own living until Brian can afford to get married. +If uncle's intentions had not been fully explained to me in one of his +own letters, I should not have expected any part of his fortune, for my +Melbourne cousins are nearer kin to him than I.... Now let me help you +on with your cloak.... Wasn't it wonderful that you should have taken a +furnished house in this very neighbourhood?'</p> + +<p>'I've many friends here, you see. After to-night you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> must come out with +me, child. A little gaiety will do you good.'</p> + +<p>The expressive face lit up with smiles again, as Catherine cried,—</p> + +<p>'How kind you are! But please, please, don't worry over me. I believe +you are often quite unhappy for my sake, just because my stepfather +squandered all my money. Dear Mrs. Arderne, <i>money doesn't matter</i>, it +really doesn't. If I were delicate, unable to earn my living, I might +merit pity, but not as I am. Why, I've never been ill in my life, and +I'm <i>so</i> happy always, that it's not the least bit of a wonder that I +feel I must thank God every minute for all His goodness to me!'</p> + +<p>Mrs. Arderne gave an impatient shrug, and hastily kissed her companion's +rosy cheeks.</p> + +<p>'Child, you are rather ridiculous sometimes. There, good-night. That +"fly" has been at the door five minutes, and I shall be late for Mrs. +Dumbarton's dance.'</p> + +<p>Catherine ran out into the hall to wave a hand as her employer and +friend was driven away, then went upstairs again to peep at the +children, to whom she was devotedly attached. Six-year-old Ted was +slumbering quite peacefully, his usually mischievous expression having +given place to a seraphic smile. As the girl bent above him he laughed +in his sleep, so she dared not linger by his side, lest he might wake to +clamour for the history of <i>Jack and the Beanstalk</i> all over again.</p> + +<p>Passing into the inner room, she found 'Toddie' (otherwise Nora) +likewise wrapped in slumber, and not in danger of being disturbed by a +kiss. Toddie was a very calm, sensible little person, a model of +deportment and good conduct, compared with that enchanting rebel Ted, +who was but one year her junior.</p> + +<p>Presently Catherine stole away, into the sanctum of her bedroom; and +there, kneeling on the hearth, with her hands<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> stretched out to the +blaze of a glorious fire, she gave herself up to pleasant thoughts, many +of which were connected with the portrait of Brian North, which occupied +the place of honour on the mantelpiece.</p> + +<p>It was a fine photograph. The keen eyes looked straight out at the +observer, with an earnestness of gaze betokening earnestness of purpose. +The features and contour of the face were both delicate and strong; and +the mouth, sensitive as well as resolute, was shadowed, not hidden, by +the dark moustache.</p> + +<p>This young man was an intellectual worker—a journalist by profession, +an author by predilection—and already the dark hair over his brow was +streaked with grey, though he was only thirty.</p> + +<p>From her kneeling posture on the rug Catherine, looking up at the +portrait, mentally apostrophized it.</p> + +<p>'My dear, hard-working old boy! Mrs. Arderne wonders why I accepted the +offer you made me—why I valued it! She thinks I could have loved any +one else just as well! Isn't it wonderful how dense the nicest people +are sometimes? Ah, yes, even <i>you</i>, dear!'</p> + +<p>At this point in her meditation Catherine's eyes saddened.</p> + +<p>'You are dense on the greatest subject of all. Do you guess how much I +pray God to <i>make you see</i>? If I were not so sure that you, being you, +must grow wise before long, must shake off the contagion of the world's +indifference, your want of faith would be enough to do away with all the +happiness I have been boasting about. But you will soon learn, Brian +dear; you will let my persuasion rouse you. God must love you so well +that He will surely show the beauty of His love to you.'</p> + +<p>Brian North had been brought up by a father who had taught him to feel +scorn for that profession of religion which so many men make without +ruling life by it—the empty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> show of faith in God without any attempt +to serve Him. No mother had ever shown Brian the truth of +Christianity—since his birth he had been motherless. The clever lad had +always admired his father, and had willingly been led by him. In early +life he had even been proud of doubting that which the majority of men +believe.</p> + +<p>Of late years, indeed, as his intellect had ripened, he had begun to +perceive the folly of unbelief—had come to see that religion, pure and +honest, is for every man the matter of supreme importance, and that +faith, though dishonoured by some hypocrites, remains the chief glory in +a glorious world. But, until Catherine Carmichael had talked to him of +these subjects, he had tried to put them out of his thoughts, to imagine +that he had not been specially 'called' to the leading of that Christian +life which he owned was a noble one.</p> + +<p>His hours were spent in business struggles; his times of leisure were +few, and he always brought to them a brain wearied by money-earning, +and, often, the despondency of baffled ambitions.</p> + +<p>His Heavenly Father had now indeed 'called' to him by the voice of the +woman of his love, and well might she hope for great things from his +faith, when it was once thoroughly aroused.</p> + +<p>To-night nearly all her thoughts were of Brian, of his needs. She could +scarcely spare one reflection for the matter which Mrs. Arderne +considered all-important—the possible reception which rich Uncle Ross +might give her. When she remembered the two old men, it was to feel +pleasantly sure of their affection, not to long for a share in the +fortune of the elder.</p> + +<p>Her heart was full of tenderness to-night, and it was partly because she +was so earnestly sorry for Brian, who did not possess her secret of +happiness, that she let him monopolize her thoughts to such a degree.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span></p> + +<p>It was not his lack of money of which she was thinking when she prayed, +'O God, make my dear boy rich! He is so poor and needy, while I can +never thank Thee enough for the gifts Thou hast lavished upon me. No one +can be content without Thee, my God.'</p> + +<p>And long before Mrs. Arderne returned from the dance Catherine was +sleeping soundly and peacefully, like Ted with the smile on his lips.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II</h2> + +<h3>Uncle Ross</h3> + + +<p>Ross Carmichael, Esq., of Carm Hall, Beverbridge, was not a punctual +person at the best of times, but on this particular morning he was the +cause of his servants' despair, for never had he been so late in coming +down to breakfast. The cook had begged the footman to let her have back +the bacon to 'hot up,' but he had replied that he dared not remove the +dish from the table: 'Master might come down any minute now, and it +would never do for him to have to wait while the dish was carried +upstairs again.'</p> + +<p>Now Mr. Carmichael had never been known to lose his temper with a +servant, so their alarmed anxiety would have appeared ridiculous to any +one ignorant of the peculiar awe that old gentleman inspired. He never +scolded harshly, nor raised his voice in remonstrance, but his reproof +would have been sarcasm, and the memory of the fault would have lingered +for days in his mind. His expression was severe generally; only those +persons who had not been so unfortunate as to offend him nearly always +found out that his face did not do his heart justice.</p> + +<p>A man of prejudices, and keen, though controlled passions, was Ross +Carmichael, very self-sufficient, and terribly unwilling to forgive or +forget the smallest injury.</p> + +<p>This morning, however, he did not mind whether his bacon were well or +ill-cooked, hot or cold, and the fact that one egg was boiled too hard +quite escaped his attention.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span></p> + +<p>His 'Good-morning, James,' was spoken as usual, then he sat down to the +breakfast-table and ate the habitual meal in silence. James began to +grow anxious about his master. He was not often so taciturn. At the end +of a quarter of an hour the man ventured to inquire whether his master +felt the room cold and would like a fire.</p> + +<p>Mr. Carmichael lifted his eyes from his plate (fine, dark eyes they +were, in striking contrast to the bent white brows above them), checked +a desire to frown at the interruption to his reflections, and answered:</p> + +<p>'No, James, thank you. A fire? You know I never have one lit in this +room until October. This is only September.'</p> + +<p>'Yes, sir; but unusually cold to-day is.'</p> + +<p>Mr. Carmichael returned to his breakfast and meditation. In a few +seconds, however, he looked up again and smiled.</p> + +<p>'Do you remember that it was in September, ten years ago, that we +returned from Australia, you and I, James?'</p> + +<p>'Yes, sir, that I do. It was a capital journey, so we was told, but the +sea was a deal too playful for my tastes.'</p> + +<p>'Tut, tut; the sea was smooth—perfectly smooth—most of the time. You +will not have forgotten the "station" then, the homestead, and little +Miss Catherine?'</p> + +<p>'The young lady as used to ride better than most men do over here, sir? +It was a sight, and no mistake, to see her clearing the paling round +that place they called the Gum Paddock—and she not more than fourteen +or fifteen, or thereabouts.'</p> + +<p>'I never gossip,' said the old gentleman, after another pause.</p> + +<p>'No, sir; of course not.'</p> + +<p>'I had a reason when I spoke about the journey to and from Australia, +and the "homestead" where I stayed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> You have served me tolerably well, +and I am sure loyally, to the best of your ability for so long now, +James, that I feel able to talk to you as I would to none of your +fellow-servants.'</p> + +<p>'I'm sure I hope so, sir,' cried the man, sorely puzzled, and not a +little hurt by the dictatorial and patronising tone of his master.</p> + +<p>His chagrined look touched Mr. Carmichael's heart.</p> + +<p>'Why, certainly, James; I regard you as a proved friend. Don't look as +though I had called you a murderer. We've faced perils together, +and—and——'</p> + +<p>Suddenly the 'squire' discovered that he was speaking strangely after +the manner of his brother (Catherine's Uncle Jack), and this surprising +fact made him break down altogether in his speech. The question to which +he had been gently leading up, in order not to surprise James into +feeling curious about it, burst without any warning from his lips.</p> + +<p>'Do you think Miss Catherine liked me—was fond of me—in those days, +James?'</p> + +<p>'Indeed, yes, sir; why, she was for ever talking about her uncles.'</p> + +<p>'<span class="smcap">Ah!</span> but <i>which</i> did she prefer?'</p> + +<p>'Which uncle, sir?'</p> + +<p>'Yes. It was her Uncle John, was it not, James?'</p> + +<p>'Mr. Jack, sir? Well, she was certainly remarkably attached to him, but +then so she was to you, sir, and she seemed able to do anything she +liked with you, sir, and it's not many people that could be said of.'</p> + +<p>The squire pondered the answer, until he chuckled over it. The chuckle +ended with a sigh, though.</p> + +<p>Rising from the table, he drew a letter from his pocket and said +shortly:</p> + +<p>'Wrongly addressed; send Newton at once with it. And, James, after all +you may light the fire here, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> another in the drawing-room, for I +expect Miss Catherine to see me this morning.'</p> + +<p>James gave a start of surprise. Before he had recovered from his +amazement sufficiently to reply, the squire had left the room, and was +shut up in the library.</p> + +<p>'"Miss Catherine" coming to Carm Hall! Why, "Miss Catherine" must be +quite grown up by this time!'</p> + +<p>Then James read the address on the letter in his hand:</p> + +<blockquote><p>'<span class="smcap">Colonel J. Carmichael</span>,</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Carm Hall</span>,</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Beverbridge</span>.'</p> + +<p>'Poor Mr. Jack! She reckoned he would be still here, in the old +home!' sighed the man to himself, as he hurried away to send Newton +at once with the missive. 'Strange, too, as the postman didn't know +better than to deliver his letter here; but no doubt he only looked +at the address, that's plain enough,—and where <i>he</i> ought to be +too!'</p></blockquote> + +<p>The elder Mr. Carmichael was not studying in the library. His +account-books lay untouched on his secretary-table; his morning papers +were not cut yet; the huge volumes of reference stood upright on the +shelves. He was sitting in his 'office-chair' before the desk, and there +was a lot of business correspondence awaiting his attention; but he was +only reading and re-reading the letter from his niece Catherine.</p> + +<blockquote><p>'<span class="smcap">Woodley Cottage</span>,</p> + +<p>'<span class="smcap">Beverbridge</span>.</p> + +<p>'<span class="smcap">My dear Uncle Ross</span>,—</p> + +<p>'I am coming to see you to-morrow morning—a few hours after you +will receive this! Since I wrote to you, last Christmas, my worldly +circumstances have undergone such a tremendous change that I am +obliged to earn my own living; for which fact many kind-hearted, +well-meaning folk<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> have pitied me. <i>I wonder why</i> they think me so +unfortunate? At the homestead I worked fifty times harder than my +duties as Mrs. Arderne's companion oblige me to do now; and, after +all, work is happiness, when God sanctions it. You shall hear no +grumbles from me, I promise you! My stepfather is not dead, only +bankrupt, and the station has passed into other hands. Mother's +money, the little fortune she left me, has vanished, and Alice is +married. Mrs. Arderne offered me a home just when I found myself +without one. The dear kind soul has no real need of a "companion," +so I tell her often; yet, as she does not wish me to leave her, I +feel justified in remaining under her roof. <i>This</i> is a hired roof, +by-the-bye, uncle—a furnished villa, taken for six months, because +she has friends in the neighbourhood. Is it not a splendid +opportunity for me to see you both again? It is ten years since we +last met, when I rode with you as far as the boundary-rider's hut +on the Curra Paddock. We said good-bye at Wattle Creek, do you +recollect? Uncle Jack, seeing that I was nearly crying, tried to +cheer me by inviting me to Beverbridge for next Christmas; but I +went home in tears, because I knew I shouldn't be allowed to go to +England all by myself. Yet here I am—ten years later! I'm grown up +now, though; not "little Catherine" any longer!</p> + +<p>'My pen has been running on, while I ought to have reserved all my +news to tell you to-morrow, when I see you again; and I have not +been able to resist writing to Uncle Jack as well as to you.</p> + +<p>'Good-bye again, dear uncle, for a very short time now.</p> + +<p>'Your affectionate niece,</p> + +<p>'<span class="smcap">Catherine Carmichael</span>.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>'Ha!—couldn't resist writing to "Uncle Jack" as well!'</p> + +<p>The squire sighed and frowned as he pondered this admission.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span></p> + +<p>Ten minutes later the library door behind him opened and shut, and he +was startled by a voice which cried:</p> + +<p>'Uncle, you didn't want me to wait ceremoniously in the drawing-room, +did you?'</p> + +<p>'Bless my soul, it is you, Catherine!'</p> + +<p>The girl let both her hands remain in his grasp, and stood facing him, +smiling, scrutinizing his face eagerly.</p> + +<p>'Yes, Catherine at twenty-five instead of fifteen! <i>You</i> look very +little older, only your beard has turned quite white!... How is Uncle +Jack? Shall I see any difference in him? Is he as upright as ever?'</p> + +<p>'He—I—I really do not know, my dear.'</p> + +<p>'<i>Not know?</i> Oh, you mean that people who are always together are easily +deceived on such points.'</p> + +<p>'No, I did not, Catherine. It is three years since your Uncle John and I +were always together!'</p> + +<p>'Your own, only brother! Perhaps he is abroad, serving his Queen and +country?'</p> + +<p>'He lives in Beverbridge still, but not here. Your letter has been sent +on to him by one of my servants, though I might reasonably have returned +it to Jenkins, the postman, who should have known his business better +than to have delivered it wrongly. Now come into the drawing-room, my +dear; there is a fire there.'</p> + +<p>'Please let us stay here. You look at home in this room. The +drawing-room will be a chilly-looking place, I know, in spite of the +fire.'</p> + +<p>Mr. Carmichael's gaze softened as it rested on the merry pleading face.</p> + +<p>'Still the same roguish young lady, Catherine? Bent on having your own +way, even in trivial matters! Ah, well, you <i>ought</i> to have it, if it +doesn't spoil you.'</p> + +<p>'That latter sentence was an after-thought, uncle! Thank you! Remember, +I am not a spoilt child of fortune any longer, but poor Miss Carmichael, +the companion!'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span></p> + +<p>Her hearty laugh was not echoed by her relative. In his opinion the loss +of money was a great evil,—a few years earlier he would have been +disposed to think it the greatest possible, only he was beginning to +realize that riches are less powerful than is usually supposed. +Catherine, being quick to note changes of expression in those dear to +her, cried suddenly:</p> + +<p>'Uncle! you are sorry for me!'</p> + +<p>'Is that so remarkable, my dear?'</p> + +<p>'Perhaps not, only I—I regret it. Why should you worry over my case, +when it does not in the least distress me? If I were <i>very</i> rich, I +should worry about the responsibility of such a stewardship, for fear I +might not make the best use of it, and so disappoint God.'</p> + +<p>Mr. Carmichael smiled involuntarily.</p> + +<p>'You have an extraordinarily familiar way of speaking of God!'</p> + +<p>'Because I used the words "disappoint God"? Does He not yearn over +sinners? Did Christ not weep over Jerusalem? Are we not told, "Ye have +wearied the Lord with your words"? If you, uncle, had showered love and +wonderful gifts upon a creature who cast away the affection and the +help, would not you be disappointed?... Oh, forgive me! My +thoughtlessness has hurt you! I—I forgot Loring!'</p> + +<p>Her penitence was very real, and tears had come into her eyes. She felt +desperately angry with herself for having reminded Uncle Ross of the +nephew who had run away to be a soldier.</p> + +<p>'Loring certainly disappointed me—he has left my home lonely; and you +are right in supposing that I prefer not to speak of him.' The old man's +brow had contracted with a frown, which deepened as he went on speaking. +'While we are upon the subject, Catherine, let me remind you that, had +not Loring despised money, as you seem to do, he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> would not have behaved +badly to me. I consider that men and women ought to desire and respect +wealth.'</p> + +<p>It was the office-chair in which Catherine was sitting. She swung it +round, that she might face her uncle, who was standing beside her, and +impulsively laid her hand on his, as she answered:</p> + +<p>'It is difficult to be quite frank with you, yet sincerity is always +best, isn't it? I don't despise money,—indeed, I do desire it,—at +least I should like more than I have, because—because I am engaged to a +very poor hard-working man, and we shall not be able to marry until his +circumstances have improved.'</p> + +<p>'Engaged, Catherine?'</p> + +<p>She blushed and nodded.</p> + +<p>'But please let me make my explanation first,—I will tell you all about +<i>him</i> presently. Some one suggested to me that—that some people might +suppose that I—expected help from you, or—or——Oh, <i>please</i> +understand, uncle dear, without any more explaining!'</p> + +<p>'Some one suggested that the pretty niece was going to see a rich old +uncle who would probably make her his heiress,—was that it? In this +cynical world motives are generally misjudged, my dear girl.'</p> + +<p>'I told the person (it was not Brian) that my Melbourne cousins were +nearer kin to you than I,—I am only a stepniece, though we have the +same surname,—and also that you have resolved to leave your fortune to +charities, as you told me by letter. All the same, I was foolishly +nervous lest you might misunderstand me; so I assured you, too bluntly, +that I am quite happy with Mrs. Arderne, and enjoy earning my own +living.'</p> + +<p>The frown had gone from the squire's brow. It was with a serene smile +that he asked, pressing Catherine's hand:</p> + +<p>'And I may believe without undue vanity, that you wanted to see the old +uncle again for his own sake?'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span></p> + +<p>'Yes; yes, indeed!'</p> + +<p>'Now tell me about this Brian. Is he worthy of you?'</p> + +<p>'Of course he is!'</p> + +<p>'That reply was expected.'</p> + +<p>'You mustn't tease me, if you want to hear about my first and last +romance!'</p> + +<p>Catherine was not used to speaking much about herself, so it was the +relation of Brian North's merits, talents, and history which she told +Uncle Ross, rather than the story of how she had learned to love this +man to whom her promise was plighted.</p> + +<p>The squire paid most attention to the description of Brian's abilities; +in fact, the moneyed gentleman was trying to calculate the author's +worth by estimating his possible financial success or failure.</p> + +<p>'If the young fellow has tact and imagination, and a practised pen, he +may win you a fortune yet, my dear; but if, as I suspect, he is one of +the large army of obstinate, blind, proud geniuses, then he isn't likely +to be able to offer you a home at all; in which case, I can only trust +you will grow tired of believing in him.'</p> + +<p>Catherine felt that her pleasure in meeting this uncle again was all +gone—dissipated by a few unsympathetic words! Yet, being genuinely fond +of him, and knowing that his worldly wisdom was far more on his lips +than in his heart, she tried to make allowances for him. Still, her +feelings had been really hurt.</p> + +<p>'You would not mistrust him if you knew him, uncle!' she cried eagerly. +'You wouldn't like me to have given him a half-hearted kind of love, +would you? If I didn't believe in him, trust him wholly, I should not +have promised to be his wife.'</p> + +<p>'Girls are too tender-hearted,' said the squire. 'And where their +affections are concerned they are utterly incapable of judgment. I will +try to believe in your impecunious<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> betrothed, Catherine, and soon you +must make him come down to Beverbridge to see me, or rather that I may +see him.... In the meantime we will not discuss him. You will stay and +spend the day with me, of course?'</p> + +<p>'No, I cannot, uncle. I am sorry, but my time is not my own, you know. I +have to be back for lunch at one o'clock.'</p> + +<p>'Then you certainly need not spring up now! Sit down again, and I will +ring for my housekeeper, Mrs. Marlin,—a worthy soul,—to relieve you of +your hat and jacket.'</p> + +<p>'But it is a four-mile walk home, and—I must go to see Uncle Jack.'</p> + +<p>Again the frown came on Mr. Ross Carmichael's brow, and his voice +regained a cynical tone as he replied:</p> + +<p>'You are not likely to find my brother indoors in the morning; I believe +he employs his time in the office of the 3rd Battalion of the Royal +Beverbridge Volunteers. He will not have received your letter yet. If +you can bear to postpone your visit to him until evening, you had better +do so, unless indeed you want to spend some hours alone with Agatha.'</p> + +<p>'Poor Agatha! How is she?'</p> + +<p>'Worse, I believe. A life like that is better ended.'</p> + +<p>'God doesn't think so, that is evident,' said Catherine.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III</h2> + +<h3>Uncle Jack</h3> + + +<p>Mrs. Arderne made Catherine give a full account of her visit to Uncle +Ross, but wisely refrained from commenting upon the recital, knowing +that her companion would be distressed by any expression of her own firm +opinion that a fortune and a good position were to be had for even less +than the asking. The kindly-natured, worldly woman was quite excited +over Catherine's prospects, though she dared not speak of them. A rich, +lonely old uncle, with no relatives near him but a brother from whom he +was estranged, and that brother's invalid ward, a girl twelve years of +age,—where could Catherine be more sure to find a benevolent patron for +Brian North (if she was resolved to be faithful to her promise to him), +or to whom could she more reasonably look for help in her orphanhood and +poverty?</p> + +<p>But Catherine was such an oddly unpractical, independent young woman +that she absolutely refused to speculate as to her chances! For this +reason, Mrs. Arderne felt positively bound to speculate for her, and to +persuade her to behave to Uncle Ross in a manner likely to please him. +Needless to say, therefore, she strongly disapproved of Catherine's +intention of visiting Uncle Jack on this, her first whole day at +Beverbridge.</p> + +<p>'My dear child, you really ought not to go roaming about the country +after nightfall,' she remonstrated.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span></p> + +<p>Ted and Toddie had just been sent back to the nursery, after the usual +game of play following upon dessert, and Catherine's cheeks were +flushed, her brown hair rumpled by exercise. She was now seated on a low +stool at Mrs. Arderne's side, smiling up at her confidentially.</p> + +<p>'Why, I simply couldn't get lost on a starlight night,—besides, I have +a compass on my watch-chain! Do you think I relied upon the aid of +street-lamps and sign-posts in Australia? Uncle Jack lives quite near +us, in a bye-lane or street of the village. The postman looked so +pleased just now when I asked him about Colonel John Carmichael! "The +nicest gentleman I ever met, miss," he said. "Quite one of the old sort. +There's no telling the kindnesses he's shown to the poor; not so much +money-giving, for folk do say he isn't well off enough for himself, but +in other ways, that mean more, usually. Oh, that village postman is +quite a philosopher, I assure you!'</p> + +<p>'You delayed Her Majesty's mail while you gossiped with him!'</p> + +<p>Catherine laughed.</p> + +<p>'I forgot that; he didn't seem in any hurry, and I'm sure he enjoyed +telling me about Uncle Jack.'</p> + +<p>Mrs. Arderne reverted to the original subject.</p> + +<p>'I am not at all certain that I shall let you out to-night, Miss +Carmichael.'</p> + +<p>'You—you <i>don't</i> mean that, do you?'</p> + +<p>'Why should you annoy your Uncle Ross, who seems to have been very nice +to you? I am certain he will be vexed by your going at once to seek out +the brother with whom he has quarrelled.'</p> + +<p>'But the right of the quarrel is all on Uncle Jack's side,' said the +girl simply. 'You will understand that when you have met him.'</p> + +<p>'He persuaded Loring Carmichael to rebel against his elder uncle's +authority.'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span></p> + +<p>'He only talked to him enthusiastically of the army; Uncle Jack, dear +old fellow, never could talk even to me for a quarter of an hour without +mentioning Sebastopol! He is such a thorough, devoted soldier, and he +always abhorred mere money-earning life-occupations!'</p> + +<p>'The world would say that, in persuading his rich brother's adopted son +to rebel, he was probably actuated by money interests himself.'</p> + +<p>Catherine was silent and very grave. This was her habitual manner when +disappointed or grieved.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Arderne bent down to glance at the saddened young face, and +promptly repented for having banished its customary smile.</p> + +<p>'There, I'm sorry I said that! No doubt Mr. Jack is a guileless hero; +but such persons are often tiresome! Go and find him this evening, if +you must, only don't perversely quarrel with the other uncle on his +account,—that other, who has certainly been very badly treated!'</p> + +<p>So, after tea, Catherine set forth at a brisk pace through the village, +smiling to herself all the way so happily that many of the cottagers, +seeing her, smiled too for sympathy.</p> + +<p>Yes, here was the lane, or street rather, of which the postman had told +her, leading out of the old market square. A small white house stood on +the right, planted sideways, within a high wall. There was no proper +entrance to it, only a narrow wooden door, painted green, and inscribed +with the name, Redan Cottage.</p> + +<p>At the sight of that address (which, after the manner of country +dwellers, the postman had omitted to mention, having called the house +'Carmichael's'), Catherine's smile widened, and her heart began to beat +fast in her eagerness. Redan Cottage!—of course that was the name Uncle +Jack <i>would</i> have chosen for his house!</p> + +<p>No sooner had she rung the bell than the door opened as if by magic, and +a rosy-cheeked lad invited her to follow<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> him across a tiny +stone-floored yard, under an ivied porch, and indoors.</p> + +<p>'I am expected!' thought Catherine.</p> + +<p>Indeed, the boy had not paused to ask her name or business, and now +preceded her into a little dark room, with the announcement:</p> + +<p>'Miss Catherine's come at last, please, sir!'</p> + +<p>Uncle Jack had been pacing the room—a short promenade! His niece had +just time to find out how overwhelmingly delighted she was to see him +once again, before he had put his arm round her shoulders and kissed her +cheek, as a father might have done.</p> + +<p>'My darling! What, crying? Oh, it's a long while since we said good-bye +at Wattle Creek, isn't it? I couldn't tell you how often I've wanted my +niece since then. But I believed we should meet again some day, and I've +found out that the times chosen by the Great Commander are always best +and fittest, lassie.'</p> + +<p>'Uncle Jack, why didn't you write oftener to me? Why did you let me +forget even a little bit how good you were to me, and how fond we were +of one another? When you call me "lassie" it all comes back to me. I +used to fancy that my father must have been like you.'</p> + +<p>'An uncle isn't as much good as a father; still, he may be some use. And +you are poor now—your possessions have melted away! We won't call the +absent bad names, lassie, will we? but I always saw "rascal" written on +your stepfather's brow. He couldn't stand fire properly, though he ought +to have been used to it out there. I remember once I held my sword to +his throat, too—to show him how poor Northcote died; and he winced +under it. Still, I won't blame him, since we are the gainers by his +wrong-doing, Agatha and I.'</p> + +<p>'Gainers? How is that?'</p> + +<p>'Because you are coming home, my dear, to live with us.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> Sit there in +the basket-chair—it was bought for you this morning, for this room was +rather short of chairs—and good old Harriet made the cushions. I verily +believe she went without her dinner that she might get them finished. +Ah, you kept us waiting a long time, lassie! Robert has been in the yard +nearly all day, he was so anxious not to keep you on the doorstep.'</p> + +<p>Catherine sat down in the chair, and could not find words to answer with +all at once. Home! Uncle Jack had taken her consent to his invitation +for granted! <i>Home!</i> And even the postman knew that he 'wasn't well +enough off for himself'! Oh, the dear, true-hearted, generous old man! +And what could she say? She could not bear to hurt his feelings, yet she +must not be a burden upon him. Tears were in her eyes, and it was with +the utmost difficulty that she steadied her voice to thank him.</p> + +<p>'Gratitude? Nonsense, my dear (if I may use such a word to a lady). +Think of the joy your presence will be to us—Agatha, myself, old +Harriet, and even Robert. I haven't been able to resist talking about +you to the servants, and they have been very curious to see you; you +would have laughed at Harriet's endeavour to get a cake made ready to +greet you. She is not the typical, cross housekeeper, resenting +interference. Indeed, she told me to-day that we all need some one to +smarten us up, and that you, "being a travelled young lady," would be +sure to do it!'</p> + +<p>In this way did Colonel Jack talk on, softly patting Catherine's hand, +and trying to give her time to control her evident emotion.</p> + +<p>She understood this, and appreciated it. Soon her eyes began to smile +through her tears, and she cried:</p> + +<p>'You <i>know</i> I am grateful, so I need not speak any more thanks to you; +but oh, Uncle Jack, dear, until you offered me a home I had not realized +the loneliness of being without<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> one. Mrs. Arderne has always been so +kind to me (you remember her, don't you?) that I've never been sorry for +myself while with her, and Uncle Ross's pity this morning only made me +feel more independently cheerful!'</p> + +<p>'So I've taught you to be lonely, lassie?'</p> + +<p>'No; you first made me long for a home, and then you gave me one! I +cannot come to live in it altogether, for I must earn my living—not be +an idle creature, you know; but Redan Cottage is "home" for me from +henceforth—"home," to love, to remember, to dream of, to visit, to +spend my holidays in!'</p> + +<p>Uncle Jack looked troubled.</p> + +<p>'Catherine, you are not—what is commonly called "an advanced woman," +are you? You are not of opinion that women should do all the work in the +world?'</p> + +<p>She laughed.</p> + +<p>'No, indeed! but a penniless young woman certainly should support +herself, if she is able to do so. Dearest of uncles, don't you think +that, by coming "home" to subsist upon the income which keeps up this +establishment, I should be defrauding Agatha, if not you?'</p> + +<p>'The poor child would receive benefits that no money could buy her: your +love and care—and counsel, especially counsel.'</p> + +<p>'Whose counsel can be better than yours?'</p> + +<p>There was a shake of the white head.</p> + +<p>'I'm a beginner in Christianity, Catherine,' said the colonel +thoughtfully. 'In my youth I wasn't taught much about God, and then my +ambitions and enthusiasm for the service left me no time, so I imagined, +for other than military studies. Naturally, when my comrades were +falling around me, I prayed, for them and for myself, if I were about to +fall too; still, I knew next to nothing of the Lord whose help I asked. +Lately I <i>have</i> been studying the Bible, and I'm honestly ashamed of my +purposeless<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> past. Every time I pray I make the best excuse I can to the +Creator, by assuring Him that had I been so fortunate as to know Him +earlier, I would have served Him as loyally as, thanks be to Him, I have +always served my Queen.'</p> + +<p>Catherine's smile was very tender as she looked at the colonel's +reverential face.</p> + +<p>'God must quite understand you!'</p> + +<p>'Do you think so? You used to talk of Him in the old days, I recollect, +but I regarded your piety as a mere part of a gentle girl's +sentiments—as a sort of beautiful romance unsuitable for men to share. +Dear, what a fool I was, Catherine (if you will excuse the strong +expression)!'</p> + +<p>'You are God's own soldier now, dear uncle. I am glad indeed. Nothing is +equal to the peace of serving Him who died for us.'</p> + +<p>'Ah, what a soldier He was!—the Great Commander is the title I like +best to give Him. You will teach me all you know about Him, will you +not, my child?'</p> + +<p>Catherine's fingers returned the pressure of his hand.</p> + +<p>'We will teach each other, Uncle Jack. And even when we are absent one +from another we shall know that we are both looking in the same +direction, towards the glory of the Prince of Peace and the King of +Battles.'</p> + +<p>'If you <i>must</i> earn your living, lassie!'</p> + +<p>'It seems to be a clear duty. I will never stay away from home out of +pride, or because I do not like to take favours from you, you may be +quite sure of that. And if Brian could only find employment in this +neighbourhood, oh, how glad I should be! He is not very strong, his +health would be so much better in the country, and he would have quiet +hours in which to write.... Oh, I forget—you don't know about Brian +yet!'</p> + +<p>'Your bright face tells your secret, lassie. Tell me you love him, and +that he loves you with all his heart, and then I shall be quite +satisfied!'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span></p> + +<p>'Yes, to both those questions! He is a poor, hard-working journalist, +earning a bare livelihood for himself.'</p> + +<p>'That doesn't matter; his love will give him courage to work on for you, +and God will reward him some day!'</p> + +<p>'He does not call God "Father" yet; his mind is only just groping nearer +to the Light; his heart has not yet been taken captive by the Lord.'</p> + +<p>'You will teach him, as I want to be taught. God will help you.'</p> + +<p>'Uncle Jack, you are the dearest consoler and encourager possible! Brian +shall love you almost as well as I do! He shall come to see you very, +very soon! Uncle Ross wants to see him too; isn't it strange?'</p> + +<p>'Surely not strange, lassie. He would naturally be interested. If my +brother offers you a home with him—what then? You will be standing in +your own light if you refuse. He is a rich man; Carm Hall is more fitted +than this cottage to be your shelter. You mustn't allow any—any +affection for me to—to influence you in this matter.'</p> + +<p>Yet, bravely though the colonel was looking this possibility in the +face, nobly though he was anxious for Catherine's welfare rather than +for his own pleasure, the contemplation of his vision of what might be, +cast a shadow into his eyes. Watching him, Catherine learned how +sincerely he wanted her.</p> + +<p>Though a most unworldly young woman (as Mrs. Arderne had often told +her), she could not help understanding that she had made a choice which +most people would blame and ridicule. She had promised always to regard +Redan Cottage as home. Though she honestly believed that Uncle Ross +would keep to his intention of leaving his wealth to be divided among +charities, she could not deny that he might offer her, and even her +husband, a home during his lifetime—possibly a small portion of his +fortune might be set aside for them.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span></p> + +<p>Yet, as she had said, she believed 'the right of the quarrel to be on +Uncle Jack's side,' and never could she deny this belief.</p> + +<p>The result of her short reflection was that she said happily, 'I have +got a home now, and I prefer it to any other at present existing in all +the world, dear colonel!'</p> + +<p>'Then my duty is done! I need never again try to persuade you to desert +me, lassie! And if Brian is vexed with me——'</p> + +<p>'But he won't be.'</p> + +<p>'No doubt you can answer for him, so I won't trouble over any +supposition! Ross does not need you, as Agatha does. He is a good man, +in his own way; Heaven forbid I should judge him harshly, but he would +not be grateful for being taught religion.'</p> + +<p>'My choice is made, uncle dear, and you may be sure I shall never, never +regret it!'</p> + +<p>'God bless you, lassie!'</p> + +<p>The old gentleman bent his lips to his niece's hand, and they were both +silent for a minute or two, gazing into the fire. Then he said:</p> + +<p>'I must take you to Agatha now; the poor little maid will be wearying +for you.'</p> + +<p>So Catherine was led out of the tiny parlour, across the hall of this +doll's house of a cottage, past the open door of the kitchen, where old +Harriet and Robert were waiting to catch a glimpse of her as she passed, +and into another room as wee as the parlour, where bright pictures, pink +curtains and upholstery generally, and the presence of flowers, +betokened the colonel's fatherly care for his adopted ward.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<h3>Catherine's Resolution</h3> + + +<p>Agatha had been an invalid all her short life. Suffering had made her +fretful and terribly nervous, especially of death, which she always +imagined to be coming soon to her. She was not at all resigned to her +lot, nor anxious to learn resignation, unless to escape the punishment +that she feared must be the result of rebellion.</p> + +<p>A more unhappy, self-tormenting child could scarcely exist.</p> + +<p>Directly Catherine caught sight of the piteous-looking countenance, with +its great dark passionate eyes, her heart went out to Agatha.</p> + +<p>The little girl was lying flat on a wheel-couch before the fire, with +her face turned away from the warmth, towards the door of the room. +There were tears on her cheeks; she had been indulging in a stormy fit +of crying because she had been, as the colonel had surmised, wearying +for the coming of Catherine.</p> + +<p>'You might have come to me sooner!'</p> + +<p>These were her first words.</p> + +<p>Bending to kiss her—a greeting that was warmly returned—Catherine +answered:</p> + +<p>'It is such a long while since I saw Uncle Jack that it was excusable +for us to have a great deal to say to one another, wasn't it? Don't +scold me on the very first evening of our acquaintance, Agatha, for you +and I will be friends soon, I hope. It is very nice of you to be anxious +to share your home with me, dear. I cannot come to live<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> here, but I +shall pay you frequent visits, and spend my holidays with you both.'</p> + +<p>'You won't come altogether?'</p> + +<p>'I cannot give up my work.'</p> + +<p>Agatha laughed bitterly, and shrugged her shoulders with the gesture of +a spoiled child.</p> + +<p>'I suppose you're afraid of offending our enemy! Guardian, don't look +cross with me because I said that! He <i>is</i> our enemy, if he isn't more +willing to make up the quarrel than you say he is. Miss Carmichael, +you'll be very silly if you don't take Uncle Ross's side of the dispute, +not ours! Being poor, and living in a tiny cottage, and having to be +economical, <i>is</i> so horrid!'</p> + +<p>The colonel showed no sign of being cross; there was only an expression +of perplexity in the gaze he bent upon his ward.</p> + +<p>'Now, dearie, do not try to shock Catherine—she will not understand, as +I do, that you never mean one half the shocking things you say.'</p> + +<p>'Oh, guardian, I can't be polite to her, just as though she were a +stranger, for I'm much too glad she's come. Catherine, if you make Uncle +Ross adopt you, I suppose you'll be cutting us out, spoiling any chances +we may have, you know, but I don't mind that a bit, and you can see +guardian doesn't. Will you promise <i>always</i> to remember that? I <i>would</i> +like the quarrel to be made up, just so that we went back to Carm Hail +to live, but that's all! I don't want any one to leave money to us, +because——Oh, never mind about why. Only say you won't misunderstand +when I grumble! I want <i>you</i> most of all; if you'd come and live here, +it wouldn't be as dull, and it's only the dulness that matters much.'</p> + +<p>This extraordinary series of sentences was delivered in a jerky, +half-shy, half-reckless fashion, and Agatha's glance remained fixed on +Catherine's face.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span></p> + +<p>Stroking the child's thin cheek, Miss Carmichael asked playfully:</p> + +<p>'Don't you know that you would have to be still more economical if I +came to live here, dear?'</p> + +<p>To her amazement Agatha burst into tears.</p> + +<p>'There! you will misunderstand me! I only mind economy because I'm +miserable often, and dull, and frightened. Now you've forced me to tell +the truth, and guardian's feelings will be hurt. Oh, I'm always doing +wrong somehow!'</p> + +<p>Catherine sat down on the edge of the couch, and laid her face on the +tumbled mass of brown curls.</p> + +<p>'You little goose! I was half in fun. I do believe that you want me to +come; only I can't, so you must be content to have me sometimes.'</p> + +<p>The sobs still continued.</p> + +<p>Uncle Jack smiled wistfully at his niece, shook his head with a puzzled +air, and stole out of the room, wisely thinking that the two girls, of +ages so different, would arrive sooner at mutual understanding if they +were left alone together.</p> + +<p>Catherine refrained from asking for an explanation of the sobs, and +presently Agatha raised a tear-strewn face out of the pillows, and +nestling her cheek against her new friend's arm, said penitently:</p> + +<p>'I'm sorry I'm such a little beast. My ideas are all in a muddle, so +that it's impossible for me to make you understand what I mean. And I +was trying to be diplomatic, and you've no notion how difficult that is +when one's head is always aching!'</p> + +<p>'Poor little woman! But why want to be diplomatic? Simplicity is true, +noble and best. Your guardian has a simple heart.'</p> + +<p>'I am going to <i>try</i> to make you understand, Catherine!' cried Agatha +resolutely. 'Ever since guardian adopted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> me I've heard praises of +you—of your courage, and sincerity, and beauty, and talents—until +you've become a sort of <i>ideal</i> to me. Do you see?'</p> + +<p>'A very poor basis to found an ideal upon!' laughed Catherine.</p> + +<p>'I know all about your Australian life—how you found out when the +stockman (Jock was his name, wasn't it?) was being cruel to the cattle, +and you told your stepfather about him, in spite of his threats of +revenge. I've made a map of the station, and guardian marked the +paddock-fence where your pony threw you when you were a child, and you +called to your mother that you were "all right," though your leg was +broken! I know how you used to spend your time, working for poor people, +and trying to make the awful rough men kinder to their wives and +children—and teaching the children about God and reading the Bible to +invalids. Oh, you're a very satisfactory ideal, I assure you!'</p> + +<p>Catherine's face was one bright blush at this enthusiastic commendation. +She was about to protest against it, but Agatha went on eagerly:</p> + +<p>'Don't contradict, please don't, for it's all true. I told you about it, +so that you might leave off being surprised at my wanting you so much. +You <i>can't</i> seem like a stranger. I made up my mind to love you, long +before I guessed you'd come to England, so when your letter came this +morning I went just wild with delight. Guardian said at once that you +would live with us, and then I thought how beautiful life would be. +There was nothing but happiness in my mind until then.'</p> + +<p>She paused, frowning at the consideration of what came afterwards.</p> + +<p>'Go on, dear,' said Catherine encouragingly.</p> + +<p>'Then I found out that my wishes were all in a muddle too. Living in a +cottage <i>is</i> so tedious! There's nothing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> to see, and nothing to do. +Guardian's out a great deal, busy over the volunteers, and there's no +one but Robert to help Harriet, so he can't be spared often to wheel my +chair. I do most dreadfully want to go back to Carm Hall to live, to +have nice food, and pretty rooms, and money to buy presents, and—oh, +and everything I used to have! Now, I suppose, you think me horrid and +mean!'</p> + +<p>'No, dearie.'</p> + +<p>'Uncle Ross—I always called him that, you know—won't make the first +advance, so the quarrel won't ever be made up unless guardian tries to +do it. He would if he wasn't so proud, for he's very unhappy about being +at war with a brother. You should just hear him pray about it every +morning and night,—for we've family prayers now, with Harriet and +Robert,—his voice often shakes, and on Uncle Ross's birthday the +prayers are ever so long. At Christmas, and Easter, and any +home-anniversary, he is just wretched, Catherine. Yet he is too proud to +be persuaded to make any more advances.'</p> + +<p>'Any <i>more</i>?' repeated Miss Carmichael, questioningly.</p> + +<p>'Yes, he made lots at first. He used to write, until Uncle Ross refused +to open any more letters; he sent congratulations to him on his +birthday, until that message came back unread; he always spoke on +Sundays in the churchyard, until once, when it was the anniversary of +Loring's going away, and through a chance word the quarrel got as bad as +ever again; and now Uncle Ross always passes us by with a stiff bow. Oh, +guardian is in the right, only he's unhappy, and Uncle Ross isn't. +Catherine, I scarcely know <i>what</i> I want! that is the truth! I should +hate for uncle to adopt you, because that would take you away from us; +yet I almost began to hope that your coming would patch up the feud +somehow. Can't you be peacemaker?'</p> + +<p>'I will do everything in my power to promote peace, dear.'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span></p> + +<p>'Yet by choosing this cottage for "home" you'll offend Uncle Ross +bitterly. It'll be like Loring's choice all over again!—between Carm +Hall and riches, and guardian and poverty. For it was his love for +guardian that made Loring want to be a soldier. Dear Loring! He was +always so good to me! Catherine, most people would call your choice +dreadfully silly!'</p> + +<p>Catherine was aware of this, but her brave spirit was quite undaunted by +the reflection. The choice had been offered her suddenly, between +hurting Uncle Jack's feelings and accepting the home he had so lovingly +offered her; and as her heart had dictated, so had she acted. In +gratitude and affection had the choice been made. Now, far from +regretting it, she had become aware of many strong reasons in its +favour.</p> + +<p>To begin with, it gave her the chance to be Uncle Jack's confidante, +even in a humble way his helper, in religious questions; it provided her +with freedom which she could use in trying to heal the quarrel between +her uncles; it offered her a new task and duty, that of helping poor, +fretful, ignorant, passionate Agatha to find peace in the thought of +Jesus Christ.</p> + +<p>Had Catherine remained homeless, she could have done, perhaps, much of +the work she was already yearning to perform, but Uncle Ross might have +doubted her perfect sincerity. Now she could not be suspected of +mercenary motives in trying to influence him. Had she waited until he +had offered her a home at Carm Hall, which might have happened, she +would either have been obliged to offend him by refusing, or probably +would have been forbidden to visit Redan Cottage. No!—though the world +might ridicule her unselfish choice, she was proud and glad of it!</p> + +<p>For Brian North's sake it was natural that she should momentarily regret +the lost chance of Uncle Ross's help for him; but she was perfectly +sincere in the hearty words<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> by which she assured Agatha that, though +her choice might be ridiculed by some, she was yet both determined and +happy in it.</p> + +<p>The girl clung to her, and protested both against her resolution to stay +with Mrs. Arderne and her obligation to return now to Woodley Villa. But +Catherine was firm.</p> + +<p>'You'll come again to-morrow, won't you?'</p> + +<p>'If I possibly can, darling.'</p> + +<p>'Oh, I want you so badly! I think you'll help me not to be so miserable. +I'm <i>very</i> ill, you know; the pain's often bad, and then I think I'm +going to die at once, and—and if I <i>did</i>, I'm certain I shouldn't—go +to heaven.'</p> + +<p>'<i>Agatha!</i>'</p> + +<p>With attempted bravado Agatha laughed.</p> + +<p>'No, of course I shouldn't! I'm beastly selfish, and I've never done +anything but <i>think</i> grumbles at God. I'm not resigned a bit,—not meek +and humble of heart,—I don't see why I should be.'</p> + +<p>'Don't you? Have you never thought about the debt we sinners owe to the +Son of the Heavenly Father, who died upon the cross for us, that we +might become entitled to the glorious eternity of heavenly life?'</p> + +<p>'But God made me,—crippled, useless, invalided as I am!'</p> + +<p>'But, dearie, suppose some great physician came to tell you that you +must suffer and be helpless for one short hour, and that then you would +recover your health and strength for eighty or ninety years, would you +not bless his name?'</p> + +<p>'Of course I would!'</p> + +<p>'And supposing that the physician had obtained your cure through making +some colossal sacrifice himself as a propitiation?'</p> + +<p>'Catherine—you—you mean that Christ is the Great Physician!'</p> + +<p>'Yes, dear. When from the eternal heavens you look<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> back upon your life +of pain and weariness on earth, it will seem but as a fleeting hour, and +you will wonder why you couldn't understand God's loving promises better +while you lived,—why you grumbled at the moments of suffering which His +compassion sent you to purify your soul from sin, to prevent your caring +too much for the things of this earth. Why, Agatha, don't we despise a +little child who cries and storms about some momentary, necessary pain? +Yet we all of us behave just as weakly before the eyes of our Father.'</p> + +<p>'But I shan't ever get to heaven. I'm not good.'</p> + +<p>'Jesus came on earth to save sinners. Remember how we are told, "The +Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will +rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over +thee with singing." Tell me, is that a picture of a cruel God? of One +who does not feel for the weakness and perversity of human nature? Oh, +my dearie, think over those three words only, "He will save," and offer +Him your heart, with all its imperfect longings. He is the Saviour who +"pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by transgression," who "retaineth not +His anger for ever, because He delighteth in mercy."'</p> + +<p>Agatha's dark eyes gazed wonderingly at Catherine's sweet, smiling face.</p> + +<p>'I—I will think about Him,' she whispered after a pause. 'But, oh, do +come again to-morrow if you can. Guardian doesn't talk about God as +clearly as you do; he's groping after Him still, Catherine, but you +speak and look just as though you'd been to heaven yourself, and seen +Him face to face!'</p> + +<p>'So may we all see Him, dear,—in the blessings of earth, in daisies, +and sunsets, and storms; in love, and humility, and suffering. For +heaven is where He is, and He is everywhere! I shall pray that you may +receive Him into your heart, and so make heaven there, little Agatha.'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V</h2> + +<h3>An Unshaken Resolution</h3> + + +<p>When Catherine ran up the steps of the villa on her return that night, +she caught sight of Mrs. Arderne's anxious eyes peeping through a front +window at her, and the door was quickly opened by that lady herself.</p> + +<p>'My dear girl, I have been worrying about you! How dark it is outside!'</p> + +<p>'I am not late for supper, am I?'</p> + +<p>'No. I only worried because you were out alone in the darkness.'</p> + +<p>'You dear soul! It was very kind of you, but there was nothing at all +terrible to be met with in this peaceful English village! The poorer +people are all out now, shopping for to-morrow—it is Saturday night, +you know. There! I don't believe that a companion ought to call her +employer "You dear soul." Why don't you scold me when I forget our new +relation to one another?'</p> + +<p>Mrs. Arderne patted Catherine's rosy cheek, and taking her arm led her +into the sitting-room, where supper was spread for two.</p> + +<p>'Because I do not wish you to be a bit different, child, except in the +way of having more worldly wisdom in your private affairs. I hoped that +your impecunious Uncle Jack would disappoint you, and his ward prove a +captious, annoying, spoiled invalid, instead of which he has evidently +pleased you so well that even Miss Agatha has not been able to put you +out of spirits.'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span></p> + +<p>'Poor little Agatha!—indeed, she too pleased me!'</p> + +<p>Mrs. Arderne sighed.</p> + +<p>'It is a disappointment to <i>me</i>, I assure you, to see you come back +wearing that radiant face!'</p> + +<p>'They have been so good to me! And the night air is deliciously cold, +and I'm as hungry as a hunter! I must be an expensive companion, for I +eat so much, don't I?'</p> + +<p>'Not a morsel more than a healthy girl should. Satisfy your appetite, +Catherine; then we will sit round the fire while you give me an honest +account of your visit to Redan Cottage.'</p> + +<p>So, when the servant had cleared away, the two friends began a cosy +chat, the younger seated as usual on a low stool, leaning her right arm +on the elder's knee.</p> + +<p>It was a joy to Catherine, this description of her visit to her Uncle +Jack and Agatha, for it enabled her to recall the incidents of an +eventful evening, and helped her to understand better both his character +and that of his ward. The more she reflected and spoke, the more did she +see that she had chosen rightly, and Mrs. Arderne's well-meant regrets +only made her own courage and gratitude the stronger.</p> + +<p>After some discussion Mrs. Arderne asked, in bewildered tones:</p> + +<p>'Is it mere preference for one uncle that has made you choose to +sacrifice all your chances, child?'</p> + +<p>'No. There are many, many reasons why I could not have chosen otherwise. +You would not have had me refuse a kind offer, hurt Uncle Jack's +feelings, disappoint Agatha, and deny my own wishes as well, and all for +the sake of a possible financial advantage, would you? Uncle Ross did +not offer me a home at all; and if he had done so, I don't think I could +have accepted it. He would have expected me to share his line of policy +towards Uncle Jack. Besides, I should have felt a mercenary wretch. +Since I am blessed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> with health and an opportunity to earn my own +living, I ought not to live in idleness and luxury at any relative's +expense. And I should be wrong, were I to accept from one uncle the +wealth which belongs rightly to his nearest relative—the other uncle.'</p> + +<p>'Now I do begin to understand!' cried Mrs. Arderne. 'Your pride +influenced you principally in the making of your choice.'</p> + +<p>Catherine raised her frank eyes to meet the disapproving gaze of her +friend.</p> + +<p>'I don't think it was a bad kind of pride,' she answered simply. 'And I +was only leading up to my biggest reason of all.'</p> + +<p>'Probably that is as absurd as the others, my dear!'</p> + +<p>'I hope you won't try to think lightly of it, dear Mrs. Arderne, for it +is the best and sincerest part of me. It is—my love for God. Uncle Jack +and Agatha are actually in need of help that I can give them, while they +in their turn will help me to lead the higher life, which is the only +worthy one. We shall encourage one another to serve God better.'</p> + +<p>'But you are not going to live at Redan Cottage, thank goodness!'</p> + +<p>'No. I shall only spend most of my spare hours there so long as we are +in the neighbourhood, and all my holidays will pass there, at home. Then +I can write to them very, very often during the times I am away. As a +rule people do not make half enough use of the post. It offers a +splendid means of communication between friends who are parted.'</p> + +<p>'And if you had agreed to live at Carm Hall, you would have been within +five miles of these beloved relatives!'</p> + +<p>'I should have been dependent upon a man who behaves persistently ill to +them. Dear, kind friend, do you not suppose that if Uncle Ross became my +benefactor, to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> extent of giving me my daily all, he would not try, +and be more or less justified in expecting, to make me obedient to his +wishes in all important matters? If I let him be as a father to me, +shouldn't I owe him consideration? And "consideration" in his opinion +would mean giving up constant intercourse with those who have offended +him.'</p> + +<p>'But, child, child, your Uncle Jack and Agatha can surely become +religious without your aid, if they desire to.'</p> + +<p>Catherine laughed blithely.</p> + +<p>'Why, of course—only I think that I can help them, and that God means +me to do so. If a poor man asked you for an alms, and you were <i>sure</i> he +was very hungry, you wouldn't refuse to give to him because some one +else might be just as well able to do so. I have had experience in +regard to the destitution of souls that know not God's peace. There is a +spiritual hunger which is worse, far, far worse, both to bear and to +witness, than mere bodily starvation!'</p> + +<p>An impatient sigh escaped Mrs. Arderne's lips.</p> + +<p>'You are an incorrigible zealot, evidently!'</p> + +<p>'I hope so.'</p> + +<p>'At least you will admit that you could be just as religious yourself at +Carm Hall as at Redan Cottage.'</p> + +<p>'Oh yes; but Uncle Ross doesn't like people to be religious. He would +attack my faith daily with sharp little weapons of perfectly courteous +ridicule, and when I repulsed the attack he would be angry at heart with +me.'</p> + +<p>'You could have borne that for Brian's sake, I should have thought, and +you could have told your Uncle Jack to apply for religious instruction +to the proper person, namely, the clergyman of the parish.'</p> + +<p>'Mr. Burnley, if he is still here, could scarcely be expected to spare +time to smooth away all my poor little Agatha's nervous fears and +doubts, even supposing she could be persuaded to tell them to him. Dear +Mrs. Arderne, do<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> not try to destroy my choice, for it is irrevocably +made, and I am very happy in it.'</p> + +<p>'It is full of conceit, Catherine! You imagine you have a solemn mission +from God to convert your heathen relatives.'</p> + +<p>Catherine's face clouded.</p> + +<p>'<i>Don't, dear!</i>' she pleaded earnestly. 'Don't try to be bitter or +cynical, for those moods are quite unlike you. I may be conceited, I +daresay I am, about other matters, but not about my knowledge of the +love and mercy of our Saviour. That is a subject upon which I own my +ignorance, for every hour that I live I make some new, beautiful, +blessed discovery in it! But it is certain that God gives to each one of +us some particular duties, some work to be performed to His honour and +glory, and I cannot refuse to do that which seems to me both right and +necessary. You wouldn't really wish me to choose to serve Mammon instead +of God!'</p> + +<p>Mrs. Arderne would not own that she was convinced of Catherine's wisdom, +though she could not advance another argument against the latter's +decision. She contented herself with exclaiming:</p> + +<p>'You are a most disappointing young woman, Catherine!'</p> + +<p>'As a companion, please, ma'am?' asked the culprit, who was genuinely +amused by this description of herself.</p> + +<p>'N-no; disappointing to your friends—to me especially, because I had +set my heart upon seeing you reinstated in a position suited to you, +either by your uncle or by your marriage.'</p> + +<p>'My Brian does not please you?'</p> + +<p>'You will not please him by this last folly.'</p> + +<p>'He isn't a bit mercenary. You will see, he will approve my choice, when +he has read the long letter I mean to write him before breakfast +to-morrow morning. He will sympathise, too, with my great wish, which is +that, with God's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> help, I may be able to act as peacemaker between my +uncles.'</p> + +<p>'Good gracious, child, I never contemplated that possibility!'</p> + +<p>'Did you not? It will be a difficult task.'</p> + +<p>'So I should imagine.'</p> + +<p>'But if I could but do it, they would all be so much happier! Dear Uncle +Jack frets about the quarrel; he is really attached to his brother. +Uncle Ross is terribly lonely in his big house, with no one to love him. +Then Agatha could have the care and nursing she needs.'</p> + +<p>'And Catherine Carmichael could have——'</p> + +<p>'I don't understand you,' said the girl slowly, trying to read Mrs. +Arderne's meaning in her face. 'I—should lose Redan Cottage for a home. +And—oh, I suppose "home" would be Carm Hall then. How funny!'</p> + +<p>'How ridiculously unpractical you are! A veritable <i>baby</i>! This new plan +of yours, Miss Peacemaker, is the one way in which you can make up to +your friends, your lover, and yourself for the folly of your choice! +Reconcile your uncles and go to live with them. Mr. Ross Carmichael will +alter his will, and leave his thousands to you instead of to charities.'</p> + +<p>There was a very mischievous smile playing round Catherine's lips while +she listened to Mrs. Arderne's eagerly explained advice, a smile which +increased as she answered, 'I <i>am</i> glad that you approve of me for +something, and that our wishes coincide for once! I mean to try my very +hardest to bring about that reconciliation; but I shall work for dear +Uncle Jack's sake principally, then for Agatha's, lastly for Uncle +Ross's. And if I am happy enough to succeed, I shall be so glad and +proud that no worldly prospects of my own could possibly make me +happier!'</p> + +<p>'<i>I</i> can be mercenary-minded for you—that is one comfort, child.'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span></p> + +<p>'It would be nicer if you would not.'</p> + +<p>'Nonsense; you surely aren't so mad that you despise wealth and power?'</p> + +<p>'No; only I hate to calculate about them, and I don't covet them. God +will send me enough daily bread, and that is all that matters.'</p> + +<p>'For the sake of Brian——'</p> + +<p>'Riches and position are not always blessings, dear Mrs. Arderne. We are +told in the Bible, "He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye," "He +that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver," and "How hardly +shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!" Neither for +Brian nor for myself can I covet a stewardship the duties of which we +may not be fitted to perform, which might take from us the best +wealth—God's love.'</p> + +<p>'Of course I cannot say any more, since you have taken to quoting the +Bible, Catherine. My memory for texts was always a bad one.'</p> + +<p>'Ted and Toddie shall not be able to say that when they are grown +up—not unless they wilfully forget all I teach them, and they love +their Scripture lessons too well to do that. Do you know, Toddie told me +yesterday that God seems ever so much <i>realer</i> than other kings? Wasn't +it sweet of her?'</p> + +<p>Mrs. Arderne gave Catherine's brow a quick kiss.</p> + +<p>'Naturally <i>I</i> think most of Toddie's speeches sweet. Go on training my +babes in the knowledge of the Creator, Catherine, for I—I shouldn't +like them to grow up to be worldly like their mother.'</p> + +<p>'You only <i>try</i> to be worldly, your heart isn't one bit so.'</p> + +<p>'Yes, it is; I love all the pleasures and vanities of life. Now go to +bed, Catherine, child, or you will oversleep yourself in the morning, +and not be able to write that lengthy letter to Brian North.'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span></p> + +<p>The girl sprang up, and clasped her strong young arms round her friend, +crying:</p> + +<p>'Good-night, then, you dearest of employers. Tell me once again that you +<i>do</i> really want me, and that you will give me notice directly I cease +to be of use to you.'</p> + +<p>'Have I not told you, just this minute, that I want you for my babies' +sakes as well as for my own? If Ted and Nora had not their "dear Carr" +to teach them about God, they might question mother, and find out how +little her knowledge is on the subject. You have another mission here, +Catherine, for the enlightenment of ignorance.'</p> + +<p>'And "mother" knows where to seek knowledge, whereas babies do not. +Thank you again and again, dear, for making me welcome.'</p> + +<p>Mrs. Arderne turned the conversation into a more shallow channel by +laughingly reminding her young friend:</p> + +<p>'We shall probably get on together famously for the future, because your +plan and my plan for you are identical. We are both bent upon the +reconciliation of your uncles.'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<h3>A Sunday's Experiences</h3> + + +<p>Catherine Carmichael was up and dressed next day fully two hours before +any one else was stirring in Woodley Villa. Then she said her prayers, +and read her Bible, and still had plenty of time left for the writing of +her letter.</p> + +<p>Softly opening the bedroom window, which was in the front of the house, +she placed her desk on a small table, and sat down where she could feel +the fresh wind and look out occasionally over the country scene.</p> + +<p>A September sunrise, and an open window! Mrs. Arderne would have been +horrified at Catherine's imprudence, but to this girl an open-air life +had been natural in all weathers, and for early hours she had a strong +preference.</p> + +<p>'Before breakfast' was always her thinking-time. She was of opinion that +men and women need leisure in which to reflect upon their lives, and to +remember both the high purpose and the unimportance of earthly +existence. Beginning the day thus, with happy realization of the +creature's indebtedness to the Creator, she found daily crosses and +perplexities much easier to bear with serenity, while joys and innocent +pleasures acquired double powers of satisfaction, by being hallowed with +foreseeing gratitude.</p> + +<p>The country was very quiet at this early hour of the Sabbath; no +agricultural workers were abroad, and smoke<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> had scarcely begun to issue +from the picturesquely irregular chimneys of the village. In front of +the villa were fields, pasture land upon which grazed some venerable +horses, and across which a path wound away to a distant wood. Over the +trees hung a pearl-tinted mist, which the sunshine was beginning to +dispel. When, presently, the sun contrived to peep between two barriers +of cloud, the wood gleamed golden and gorgeous, as the light struck upon +its copper beeches.</p> + +<p>Catherine unconsciously smiled at the loveliness spread out before her +eyes, and remembered the words of a poet:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">'What sweeter aid my matins could befall<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Than this fair glory from the East hath made?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What holy sleights hath God, the Lord of All,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To bid us feel and see! We are not free<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To say we see not, for the glory comes,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Nightly and daily, like the flowing sea.'<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Then she took up her pen and began to write to Brian.</p> + +<p>This was no hard task, for she knew that he liked her letters to be +rambling and unstudied, consisting of sentences from her heart, just as +she loved best to make them. All her pure girl's fancies and imaginings +about the higher life, all her tender anxieties—on the subject of +himself usually—her fears for his health, and longings for his complete +understanding of God, all her merry discoveries in her daily life, all +the kindnesses she received, all her hopes for the future, these were +written down simply for his interest. Fortunately, Brian North could be +trusted to appreciate and reverence Catherine's sincerity. The letter, +when written, was a precious revelation of a good woman's very soul.</p> + +<p>Probably the 'good woman' herself would never guess how large an effect +her letters wrought upon Brian's heart and intellect, how he was +learning to accept her ideas, see<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> God through her eyes, and exchange +his worldly ambitions for her lofty content with aspirations infinitely +nobler.</p> + +<p>She was quite unconsciously setting him a lovable model of a Christian +life, as all God-serving girls should be able to do for those who are +dear to them.</p> + +<p>Her pen flew over the several sheets of paper, until she felt satisfied +that her lover had been given a really accurate description of her new +experiences at Beverbridge. She had honestly tried not to allow her +great affection for Uncle Jack to prejudice her in writing of Uncle +Ross, yet she wanted Brian to be prepared to be devoted to the former.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Arderne's suggestion that Brian would not approve of his +betrothed's acceptance of Redan Cottage as 'home' scarcely occurred to +Catherine this morning. She had not the least doubt that she had acted +in the best way in regard to Uncle Jack's offer, and so, loyally, she +felt certain that Brian must agree with her when he considered the +subject.</p> + +<p>The letter, though of even unusual length, was finished some time before +the hour for breakfast, so Catherine began to write another to her +cousin George in Melbourne, the cousin who had been in the same regiment +with poor Loring Carmichael.</p> + +<p>After sending messages to George's relatives, and giving him a spirited +account of her experiences in London, describing the sights she had +seen, she continued as follows:</p> + +<p>'Do you remember that you used to call me "the most meddlesome of +girls"?—that year when I tried to reconcile my stepfather and his men. +Well, I am going to be meddlesome again, for I want, if God will let me, +to make peace between our two English uncles. Would you believe that +they are living in different houses in the same neighbourhood, and are +still estranged because of Loring's choice of a profession? Yet I can +see that they both desire to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> friends again, if once their pride +could be overcome. Now that Loring is dead, Uncle Jack must partly +regret having persuaded him to be a soldier, and Uncle Ross should be +able to forgive the choice, especially as he has been chiefly to blame +for the strength to which this foolish family feud has attained. If you +can tell me anything, George, about Loring's death, since you, his +friend, were with him when he fell, I might be fortunate enough to +effect a reconciliation through their mutual interest in the news. Did +Loring send no messages to either uncle? Please let me know all you +know, for I, being on the spot, can perhaps make good use of the +knowledge.'</p> + +<p>This letter was also finished, and the envelope addressed and stamped, +before the breakfast bell sounded.</p> + +<p>Catherine ran downstairs, to find Ted and Toddie awaiting her in the +dining-room, two solemn-faced little people, wearing their best frocks, +and standing side by side, hand in hand, on the hearth-rug.</p> + +<p>'We've been <i>vewwy</i> good, an' we're so tired wiv it,' announced Toddie, +with emphasis.</p> + +<p>'We didn't fink muvver was ever comin', nor you, nor bweakfast,' +explained Ted. 'Bweakfast comed first though, an' we didn't peep one bit +under the cover, did we, Toddie?'</p> + +<p>'No, but it's sausages, I fink, 'cause it smells like it.'</p> + +<p>'Then you comed next, dearie Carr, an' we won't have to be good no +longer.'</p> + +<p>Ted's face was roguish again, and he scrambled on to Catherine's knee as +she sat down in the arm-chair, while Toddie, regardless of her Sunday +dress, sank down in a happy heap on the rug at her feet.</p> + +<p>'Not good any more! Oh, Ted, you know I always want you to be good!' she +exclaimed, trying to preserve discipline.</p> + +<p>'Oh yes, of course!' cried the culprit, 'only the nurse says<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> "Be vewwy +good children," when she just wants us not to cwumple our clothes. <i>You</i> +don't do that. <i>You</i> don't like us best when we're <i>stiff</i>, does you, +Carr?'</p> + +<p>'You mustn't spoil your nice clothes on purpose, Ted and Toddie, but +you—you needn't keep on remembering them. Why, they are sensibly-chosen +clothes, they will not easily take harm. Some poor little children are +always dressed in silks and satins, so grand that they are expected to +take great care of them, but your kind mamma likes you to be happy and +able to romp about.'</p> + +<p>'<i>Silks an' satins!</i>' repeated Toddie. 'Gwacious!—<i>wouldn't</i> we cwumple +them all up!'</p> + +<p>Mrs. Arderne came into the room, and found the usual picture awaiting +her vision—Catherine and the babies laughing together, clinging +together, perfectly happy in their merriment.</p> + +<p>'Ah, chickies, plaguing "Carr" again. Catherine, dear, in a weak moment +yesterday I promised those infants that they should spend Sunday with +us, and come to church.'</p> + +<p>'We'll be <i>vewwy</i> good.'</p> + +<p>'We'll twy dreffully hard not to laugh.'</p> + +<p>Catherine kissed them both as she lifted them comfortably on to their +chairs close to the table.</p> + +<p>'You must promise faithfully not to talk in church, children, not even +if there is a funny-looking old lady in front of you, or any naughty +little boys try to make you laugh at them.'</p> + +<p>'Not if there's anover lady who can't find her pocket, Carr?'</p> + +<p>'Or an old, old man wiv a spider cweeping up his back?'</p> + +<p>'Not for any reason at all. You must promise to try to remember all the +time that you are in church to please God, not to amuse yourselves.'</p> + +<p>'But we mustn't speak pwayers out loud.'</p> + +<p>'Muvver, you don't always 'member, <i>does</i> you?'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span></p> + +<p>'I'se <i>sure</i> muvver doesn't, 'cause once she laughed an' spoke to Carr +something about bonnets,' cried Toddie delightedly.</p> + +<p>'Now you are beginning to talk too much, and about matters you do not +properly understand,' said Miss Carmichael quickly. 'Say grace, and eat +your breakfasts, dears.'</p> + +<p>The mother and children, and the companion, sallied forth early to find +the village church. Ted and Toddie walked most demurely, one on either +side of Catherine, sometimes uttering their quaint criticisms of the +people and objects they passed, and proudly carrying their Prayer-books, +so that their own destination was plainly intimated to all persons +curious on the subject.</p> + +<p>'Won't look as though we was goin' no wicked walk,' explained Toddie.</p> + +<p>The church proved to be quite a long walk away. It was a beautiful old +grey brick building, wreathed and wrapped round by ivies of many +species, and stood, in the midst of its little graveyard, on the summit +of a hill. Two roads approached it from different sides of the country, +and there was also a much-used footpath leading from a vista of +park-like meadows to the vestry door.</p> + +<p>By this path came the clergyman, a venerable-looking gentleman, whom +Catherine guessed to be the Mr. Burnley of whom her uncles had told her +many years ago.</p> + +<p>Just as Catherine passed at the wicket-gate of the churchyard she became +aware of the approach of Mr. Ross Carmichael, who had just stepped out +of his carriage. It was a rare event for him to be seen in the precincts +of a church. The tall, straight old gentleman was dressed with his +accustomed care, from the glossy hat to the perfectly-fitting <i>Suéde</i> +gloves, and the white 'spats' over patent-leather boots. Catherine +noticed that his step was very firm, unlike that of Uncle Jack, who was +approaching from a greater<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> distance, coming slowly uphill, beside +Agatha's wheel-chair, which Robert was pushing. The military uncle's +face had none of the deep lines which creased that of the business man, +yet he seemed the elder and less strong, and his moustache was quite as +silvery as was the other's short beard.</p> + +<p>Probably Uncle Ross was aware of the approach of Uncle Jack, for he +advanced quickly to greet his niece, who introduced him to Mrs. Arderne.</p> + +<p>'This is a pleasure. I trust you will add to it by helping to fill my +pew.'</p> + +<p>Now this invitation could not easily be refused, though Catherine +reflected regretfully that her other relative might object to her having +accepted it. Mrs. Arderne settled the question by answering gratefully:</p> + +<p>'That is exceedingly kind of you, Mr. Carmichael. It is sometimes so +difficult for strangers to find good seats in country churches. I only +hope that the children will do nothing to make you regret your +considerate offer.'</p> + +<p>Ted and Toddie were gazing in an awe-stricken manner up into the face of +the austere-looking, handsome old gentleman, who now shook hands +ceremoniously with them both.</p> + +<p>Uncle Jack and Agatha were nearly at the gate by this time. Uncle Ross, +after a glance over his shoulder, lingered outside the porch to ask:</p> + +<p>'Catherine, I am anxious for another talk with you. Can you come to see +me to-morrow? Will you be able to spare her, Mrs. Arderne?'</p> + +<p>'Oh, certainly.'</p> + +<p>'I will walk up in the afternoon then,' said the girl; adding, with a +laugh and a blush, 'and if by any happy chance Brian should run down +to-morrow to see me, may I bring him also?'</p> + +<p>'It will gratify me to make his acquaintance. Excuse my leading the way +into church.'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span></p> + +<p>Uncle Jack and Agatha were not more than twelve steps behind now, but +Catherine could not refuse to follow Uncle Ross through the porch and up +the aisle. Ted and Toddie peeped across her skirts at one another, and +murmured, '<i>Dwefful</i>!'</p> + +<p>'I will speak to Uncle Jack at all costs, even if I have to appear rude +to Uncle Ross, after service,' Catherine decided.</p> + +<p>She tried her utmost to forget her family quarrel, at least its +difficulties and perplexing incidents, while she listened to the sermon; +and endeavoured, as she prayed for God's help in her effort at +peace-making, not to be conscious of the reproachful glances which +Agatha, from her chair in a side aisle, was directing towards her.</p> + +<p>Afterwards, when the congregation had nearly dispersed, Uncle Jack and +Uncle Ross remained in church, each waiting for the other to move first. +Each happened to be resolved not to do so. Uncle Ross wished to prevent +Catherine from speaking to his brother. Uncle Jack was simply determined +to speak to her, as he and Agatha both desired to do so.</p> + +<p>At length, when the long wait was becoming ridiculous, and Ted and +Toddie were beginning to fidget, Mr. Ross Carmichael rose, and walking +with more than usual stiffness, led the way out of church. Immediately +the colonel marched out, too, down the side aisle.</p> + +<p>The groups joined in the porch, and passed into the open air together.</p> + +<p>Catherine saw the two old gentlemen exchange the stiffest of bows, but +her quick eyes noted also the restrained impulse of Uncle Jack's right +hand, and the wistful expression in the gaze with which he regarded his +brother, who was now bending courteously over Agatha's chair, inquiring +after her health.</p> + +<p>'I'm tired, and in pain, but then I always am,' said the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> child +fretfully. 'And I've had a lot of neuralgia lately; the air seems damp +and horrid down in the village, where <i>we</i> live.'</p> + +<p>Uncle Ross murmured polite regrets, and after bowing to Mrs. Arderne, +and reminding his niece, 'I shall expect you to-morrow afternoon, then,' +turned away by the footpath across the fields.</p> + +<p>By this time Mrs. Arderne and the colonel were chatting together.</p> + +<p>Agatha beckoned to Catherine to come near, and whispered:</p> + +<p>'You ought to have sat in <i>our</i> seat.'</p> + +<p>'No; if I have accepted a "home" from one uncle, surely I may accept the +occasional loan of a pew from the other? You must not be unreasonable, +dear, if you want me to try to effect a reconciliation; you must leave +me free to use my own methods.'</p> + +<p>'Horrid old man! and you are going to him to-morrow!'</p> + +<p>'Well, I am coming to you to-day. Mrs. Arderne has kindly promised to +spare me this evening.'</p> + +<p>'Come early, then, for I want some of you all to myself!'</p> + +<p>Ted and Toddie ran up to the side of the wheel-chair at this moment, and +scrutinized Agatha.</p> + +<p>'Can't you get up?'</p> + +<p>'No.'</p> + +<p>'Never mind, though,' said Toddie, anxious to be consoling. 'You look +vewwy nice, an' you must feel comfor'ble. I wish <i>we</i> had sofas in +church. Carr wouldn't let us even kneel back'ards this mornin'.'</p> + +<p>''Cause of the stiff old man,' Ted explained. '<i>Your</i> old man's ever so +much nicer!'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<h3>A Ray of Light</h3> + + +<p>'I don't suppose she'll come at all, guardian. Everything turns out +disappointing. That Mrs. Arderne will keep her indoors, or she'll be +afraid to walk in the rain, or she'll forget all about me, or +those—those extraordinary children will coax her to stay with them.'</p> + +<p>Agatha had been fretting all the afternoon in this fashion, until she +had forced herself to believe her own dismal prophecies, and no words of +her guardian availed to comfort her.</p> + +<p>He was standing beside her couch now, holding her thin right hand in his +firm grasp, smilingly trying to persuade her to be more reasonable, and +to take the tea and hot buttered toast which Harriet had prepared with +so much care.</p> + +<p>The colonel was enveloped in a huge cloak, for he was going out to read +aloud at a Young Men's Club,—a habit of his on many Sunday evenings.</p> + +<p>'Catherine is true to her promises, I am certain of that, dear. She will +come to you if she possibly can.'</p> + +<p>'Very likely; but she is sure to be afraid of the weather. Just listen +to the wind and rain! It is a shame, when the morning was so lovely.'</p> + +<p>'God's weather, my little woman: that must be for the best.'</p> + +<p>'Oh, <i>bother</i>!' was the rude answer, and Agatha turned her head away +from her best friend.</p> + +<p>The colonel did not take offence. He was grieved by her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> rebellion +against God far more than by her impertinence to himself; and he was +sufficiently humble to recollect how short a time it was since he had +learned to trust the All-Father, saying in his thoughts, 'If I, a grown +man, could be both ignorant and stubborn-willed, how dare I be shocked +by this invalid child's foolishness?'</p> + +<p>So, instead of scolding, he slipped an arm under Agatha's shoulders to +raise her up, that she might take her tea before he was obliged to leave +her.</p> + +<p>'If Catherine comes, you will need strength to entertain her cheerfully. +Be brave and good, dear.'</p> + +<p>Agatha longed to push the cup away from her, but his patient kindness +prevailed over her cross mood.</p> + +<p>'I'm a savage little beast. Guardian, I'm—I'm sorry!'</p> + +<p>'There's a dear girl! No doubt pain is very bad to bear.'</p> + +<p>'I haven't any pain now—only in my temper. But I don't pretend to be +<i>religiously</i> sorry, you know; I don't want to be bad to you—that's +all.'</p> + +<p>'Your Father in heaven loves you better than I, your adopted father on +earth, can do.'</p> + +<p>'You only love me out of duty. It must be that, because I'm not a bit +nice; so probably my Father in heaven gave me up long ago!'</p> + +<p>'Agatha, my darling, do you not know better than that?'</p> + +<p>'Better than <i>which</i>, guardian? better than to doubt God's love or +yours?' she asked, smiling through tears that seemed to burn her weary +eyes.</p> + +<p>'I might answer truthfully, "Both"; but if you cannot trust in my love, +you should be able to lean confidently upon the love of your Maker.'</p> + +<p>'Are you <i>really</i> fond of me? Would you be sorry if I were to die?'</p> + +<p>Colonel Jack looked his ward gravely in the face, his eyes filled with +sincerity. He was a man of action, not of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> words, so he made no lengthy +protestations, only saying with heartfelt fervour:</p> + +<p>'I love you, for your own sake and that of my old friend, your father; +and I should be lonely without you.'</p> + +<p>Agatha gazed at him in silence for a minute or two, studying the +sincerity of his eyes, which had so often looked at death calmly. Then +she pressed her lips to his hand, and cried:</p> + +<p>'I'm happier now, then! It's dreadful to think that no one does. +Perhaps—I mean, I'll believe God does.'</p> + +<p>'"Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his +friends,"' quoted the colonel reverently.</p> + +<p>'Guardian, you are always repeating that. I believe it's the only text +you know by heart!'</p> + +<p>Seeing Agatha's natural expression come again to her face—the teasing, +audacious, little smile he knew so well—he was contented.</p> + +<p>'It is the best I <i>could</i> remember, little woman. Now, promise me you +will not fret any more to-night, while I am away. Catherine will come to +you, unless she is unavoidably prevented.'</p> + +<p>'I'll try to be reasonable. It would be much nicer if you could stay +with me till she comes, though. There's something very odd about +persuading young men and boys to go to a club on Sunday evenings, just +to hear reading, when they could quite well go to church.'</p> + +<p>'None are allowed in but those who have been to church in the morning, +and Mr. Burnley tells me that many go to service (who used never to be +seen in church before), just that they may be entitled to join our +Sunday evening circle. We read interesting books to them, and sometimes +there are recitations of poems,—it is not surprising how many great +literary works there are which raise the heart and mind to God. Then we +always begin and end with prayer. It is not a bad service itself, +Agatha; and the young fellows<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> would not go to church twice a day—they +would probably spend their evenings in gambling and drinking, or in the +company of street loafers. Beverbridge has its bad characters.'</p> + +<p>'Now, why is it that you never address meetings of the club?' asked his +ward mischievously. 'That was quite a speech!'</p> + +<p>He laughed.</p> + +<p>'<i>I</i> speak? My courage fails me even when I begin to read aloud! No, no, +that is not the kind of action for which my poor powers are suitable.... +Now, good-bye, my dear. Keep a brave heart until Catherine comes. Be +God's plucky little soldier!'</p> + +<p>Only half an hour later Agatha was nestling her face against Catherine +Carmichael's shoulder, smiling up at her radiantly. They were talking of +Agatha's own life,—its trials, pleasures, wants, and blessings.</p> + +<p>'Oh, you can't guess how badly I've wanted a girl-friend, some one to +tell everything to! I used to dream about you, when you were out in +Australia, and I nearly began to write long letters to you.'</p> + +<p>'I wish you had written.'</p> + +<p>'You couldn't have known what I was like. I should have hated you to +think me nice, and then to have come to England and been disappointed. +It's best as it is. Help me, Cath; <i>do</i> help me! What am I to do to be +nicer?'</p> + +<p>'Leave off thinking so much about yourself.'</p> + +<p>'Why? I ought to meditate continually upon my faults, ought I not? +People have told me so.'</p> + +<p>'That is a morbid idea of religion and duty, dear. Be as sorry as +possible for your sins, but spare time to meditate upon God's mercy and +goodness, otherwise how can you learn to love Him? Then again, by +thinking always of your faults, you grow into a spiritual hypochondriac. +How ill a person would feel who spent all his time in considering<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> the +exact strength and nature of every small pain or weariness! No, no, +Agatha; to be healthily religious, you must trust in God a great deal +more, and, in remembering Him, forget yourself!'</p> + +<p>'It must be much easier for you, Catherine,' said the little girl +wistfully, 'for <i>you</i> never feel too ill to do anything but be cross, do +you?'</p> + +<p>'No, dear. But there will be a wonderful reward due to you in heaven, +if, in spite of your bodily weakness, you serve the Father bravely. Tell +Him your difficulties; speak to Him quite simply, at all hours, out of +the fulness of your heart, and He will understand. You will learn to +feel sure of His presence near you; you will love to bear pain +patiently, to please Him, and in remembrance of the agony He chose for +His portion in order that we, His rebellious servants, might be +eternally happy. Once you have learned this lesson, you will never feel +lonely any more.'</p> + +<p>Catherine's face was glorified by the light of the peace of which she +was speaking, that peace which truly passeth understanding! Perhaps +Agatha learned more by watching her friend's face than even by listening +to her words. Certainly she was both convinced and comforted.</p> + +<p>'Catherine, I'll try.'</p> + +<p>The promise (for as a promise the words were spoken) came slowly, +earnestly, eagerly from the child's lips. Then, laying her head on her +friend's shoulder, she went on to say:</p> + +<p>'It won't be easy, I know that; and it means never trying to please +myself only, never speaking angrily just to make other people angry, +never calling Uncle Ross our enemy and trying to hate him, never.... Oh +yes, it <i>will</i> be difficult! Only now I seem to understand, as I never +did before, that it isn't only people who want to be extra good, but +it's <i>every one</i> who ought to serve God <i>thoroughly</i>. Do you know what I +mean?'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span></p> + +<p>'Yes, dear. It is very common for persons to say or think, "<i>I</i> needn't +devote my whole efforts to serving God. <i>I</i> shall be all right, so long +as I do not sin in great matters." But that is a form of ignorance. +Directly such a person is asked, "Why were you created?" "Are you +fulfilling the Creator's purpose?" there is no answer forthcoming, +except an admission of failure. Now we all of us despise failures that +are the result of idleness; so how can we expect God, at the last +judgment, to reward us for failing through our ill-will and +slothfulness?'</p> + +<p>'It all seems quite plain, when you talk of religion.'</p> + +<p>Catherine's gentle hands were stroking Agatha's hot forehead, passing +and repassing over her eyes with a soft touch which was very soothing.</p> + +<p>'My mother taught me all these truths, and I have never forgotten them,' +she answered. 'So you are going to give God your whole heart?'</p> + +<p>'I'll begin this very evening, and I shall write down the promise, in +cypher, in my diary, that I mayn't ever be able to forget for long. +Cath, if I were to die now ... should I go to hell?'</p> + +<p>'If <i>you</i> had a servant who had neglected his duty, but who was honestly +sorry, and promised you that he would never wilfully sin against you +again, would you wish to condemn him to eternal misery? Oh, childie, +when you doubt God's mercy, you do Him a terrible injustice, for He is +many million times more generous than the greatest and best of His +creatures can ever become.'</p> + +<p>'Oh, Catherine, you <i>are</i> beautiful!'</p> + +<p>'Why, what sudden nonsense is this, my pet?' was the amused question.</p> + +<p>'I was watching you. Does Mr. North love you very, <i>very</i> much? He ought +to.'</p> + +<p>Blushes stole over the face that had been praised.</p> + +<p>'He loves me a great deal more than I deserve.'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span></p> + +<p>'I made guardian tell me all you told him. You don't mind my knowing, do +you?'</p> + +<p>'Of course not. It will be nice to be able to talk and write of him to +you, little one, for there was no one to sympathise with my romance +until I found you and Uncle Jack.... Brian <i>may</i> come down to see me +to-morrow, but I am trying not to hope too much, or else I shall feel +dismal if a disappointment follows. Still, he hasn't telegraphed yet, +nor written for two whole days, so I think he must be coming.'</p> + +<p>'If he does, you will bring him here?' asked Agatha excitedly.</p> + +<p>Catherine nodded.</p> + +<p>'I am simply longing to show him to Uncle Jack; they are sure to love +one another. In the afternoon I have agreed to go to see Uncle Ross, and +to take Brian with me, if possible.... Now, Agatha! What a dreadful +frown!'</p> + +<p>'It's gone, now, and I know you are quite right and wise, Cath. Please +go on with what you were going to say.'</p> + +<p>'But I shall insist upon leaving Carm Hall in time to spend the evening +here. I shall say you have invited me to supper. That will be true, +won't it?'</p> + +<p>'Yes, yes, and Harriet shall lay the cloth and make the table look very +nice, before she goes out for her "evening." Ah, Cath, you have made me +happy!'</p> + +<p>'God bless you, darling! He will teach you to be a great deal happier +yet, I hope.'</p> + +<p>When the colonel returned from his work at the club he heard Agatha's +laughter resounding through the cottage,—a sound that was strange +indeed. The girls were neither of them in the least tired of their +<i>tête-à-tête</i>, yet they gladly welcomed him and soon the three were +chatting as gaily as two had done.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span></p> + +<p>Before Catherine went home she shared in the evening prayer at Redan +Cottage, and heard the colonel's voice falter as he offered up one +special petition for the 'welfare, spiritual and temporal, of all +relatives and friends.'</p> + +<p>No wonder that the girl's heart was filled with rejoicing as she walked +back to Woodley Villa! She had been able to comfort poor little Agatha, +and had persuaded her to serve God. And there was still plenty of work +to be done, a beautiful reconciliation to effect, if God would give her +grace and aid sufficient.</p> + +<p>Not for an instant did she count up the gains that might accrue to +herself from this peace-making. Her intentions were pure and unselfish.</p> + +<p>Little world-loving Mrs. Arderne would have marvelled again, had she +been able to read her companion's heart to-night.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h2> + +<h3>The Coming of Catherine's Betrothed</h3> + + +<p>By ten o'clock on Monday morning Brian North had earned a holiday. He +had been up and working since the small hours, but instead of going back +to his lodgings to rest, he hurried to a station and took train for +Beverbridge. Catherine's letter had been brought to him, and had made a +precious interlude to his occupation. Generally he was as busy in the +evening as in the morning, but his other occupation had been taken away +from him,—a loss which he was obliged to regret, although it had +obtained him an opportunity for a few days' holiday in the neighbourhood +of Catherine Carmichael.</p> + +<p>Had she been in London, Brian would have remained there, too; so when +the landscape began to be green, and the buildings few, and the sky +showed a clear expanse above, his spirits revived with his gratitude for +the fact that his dear girl was in the country. The fresh pure air +strengthened him already.</p> + +<p>Beverbridge was a long journey from town, but he found time pass +pleasantly, as he leaned back close to the open window, and let his +thoughts rove over the subject of Catherine's perfections. There would +be need to ponder over the question how to gain some new work, how +secure a prize in an overcrowded amphitheatre, since his marriage would +be delayed until he could earn not only a sufficient income to provide a +home, but also a small sum 'laid by' as provision for 'rainy days.'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span></p> + +<p>Brian was resolved not to persuade Catherine to make an improvident +marriage; he had seen much misery resulting from such folly, and his +love for her was deep enough to make his plans unselfish.</p> + +<p>There was a smile on his lips as he sat thinking, alone in the railway +carriage—the smile which thoughts of Catherine always created. Tired, +disappointed, harassed though he was, his life was blessed by a great +happiness, and but for the fear of being guilty of hypocrisy, he would +have thanked God for it.</p> + +<p>These were the doubts which prompted the fear: 'Was he not supposed to +be resigned to any possible manifestation of God's will? Without this +resignation would not gratitude be guilty of mockery, since the Creator +possessed undoubtedly the right to take, as well as to give? How could +he honestly thank God for the gift of Catherine, if he were not prepared +also to acknowledge God's right to take Catherine from him?</p> + +<p>It may be thought that Brian was too sincere with himself in this +matter. The girl he loved was strong and healthy, and likely, humanly +speaking, to live to a good old age. But he was essentially thorough, +and now that he was groping after the light, he was anxious to invite it +to shine into every corner of his heart. He had already perceived that +religion must be all or nothing, a sham or a whole, so that he could not +rest content with any reservations.</p> + +<p>If he was to love God, then to the Creator must be given more love than +to the creature. Human tenderness and sympathy do not enter into the +devotion that a soul must cherish for its Maker. He was not so foolish +as to expect to feel the same impulses of longing for a vision of God, +for instance, as it was natural for him to feel for the presence of +Catherine; but he was not able yet to give the love which is commanded, +the perfect acknowledgment of God as Author of all good, the resignation +of praying 'Thy will be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> done,' of owning 'Thy will must be best,' and +the confidence of leaving the future entirely, gladly, in God's care.</p> + +<p>Brian often worried about the future. His health suffered from the +feverish manner in which he pursued Fortune—all for Catherine's sake. +As a youth he had fretted for fame; now he spent his life in restlessly +striving after money and a secured position.</p> + +<p>His pale, lined face, the grey hairs threading the dark curls over his +temples, and his sunken eager eyes, proclaimed his want of peace.</p> + +<p>There was no one but a porter in the little Beverbridge station when +Brian arrived. Just as he was calling the man to take charge of his bag, +and to direct him to a respectable inn, he chanced to look up at the +bridge which spanned the rail. A tall girl standing, holding a little +boy in her arms—Catherine herself!</p> + +<p>Lovers' eyes are seldom deceived in such cases. Catherine, out for a +walk with Ted and Toddie, had brought them within the precincts of the +railway, not only because the small folks delighted in the sight of 'a +big puffing engine,' but also because there was a possibility that Brian +might come down to-day by the London express.</p> + +<p>Her beaming smile as she gazed down at him over the parapet of the +bridge was the cause of sympathetic beams upon his face.</p> + +<p>'That gentleman is—a great friend of mine, Ted and Toddie!' she cried +exultantly.</p> + +<p>'How nice!' said Ted. 'He <i>must</i> be nice if <i>you</i> like him, Carr.'</p> + +<p>'He's comin' up. Oh, poor, poor man! Is he ill, Carr?'</p> + +<p>'No, dears, only hard-worked; and he lives in smoky dark London.'</p> + +<p>By this time Brian had mounted the steps and emerged through the doorway +on to the bridge.</p> + +<p>Catherine had put down the child, so she put both her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> hands into +Brian's, and so they stood for a few minutes, smiling, silent, looking +into one another's eyes, in delicious contentment at having met once +more.</p> + +<p>Then the woman's practical mind read the significance of the presence of +a bag.</p> + +<p>'You are come, and you haven't got to go away again yet!'</p> + +<p>'I may spend three days in Beverbridge, dear.'</p> + +<p>'God is good!' was Catherine's simple answer.</p> + +<p>'<i>I'm</i> Ted Arderne,' announced a little voice.</p> + +<p>'And I'm Toddie,' said another.</p> + +<p>Brian responded warmly to the children's greeting, gave Ted his umbrella +to play with, and made Toddie laugh at the energy with which he +shouldered his bag. Together they went along the quiet country road and +through the pretty village, Brian delighting in the autumnal crispness +of the wind and in the beauty of the unpretentious scenery.</p> + +<p>'Did you expect me, Catherine?' he asked.</p> + +<p>'I only hoped for you.'</p> + +<p>Mrs. Arderne welcomed Brian most kindly. True, she did not think that in +becoming engaged to him Catherine had acted wisely, but her womanly +instinct was aroused to take benevolent interest in a love affair. She +could not help being prepossessed in Brian's favour by the first glimpse +of his expressive, clever-looking, worn face. And the manner in which +she showed her kindness was the best evidence she could have given of +her sympathy.</p> + +<p>'I will take care of the children,' she said. 'You and Mr. North can +have a quiet half-hour in the garden before lunch. You must have reams +to say to each other.'</p> + +<p>So Catherine led him out, and they strolled up and down the narrow +gravel paths, under the gnarled branches of venerable apple trees, in +and out among the flower beds, and past the vegetables. Then he began to +tell her about his troubles.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span></p> + +<p>'You are much poorer, then, than you were?' she said quickly, glancing +at his face. 'And I might have helped you—I mean, I might have schemed +to gain a fortune—and I won't even try to do so. Brian, tell me all +that is in your heart now, all the thoughts that came to you when you +read my long letter.'</p> + +<p>'I love and admire my dear brave girl more than ever. When I had read +her letter all through, I told myself that she was a woman in a +thousand, that it was a privilege indeed to be allowed to work for her. +Then, if you want a complete account, I smiled over the description of +Uncles Ross and Jack, and reflected, "What a first-rate old chap the +colonel must be!"'</p> + +<p>'Did you? I'm glad. You must love him. And you do not in the very least +wee bit blame me for having accepted the home he offered me?'</p> + +<p>'No, Catherine; I would have you happy and free to follow your own +ideal. We should neither of us know much happiness, my dear one, if we +were a rich relative's pensioners, obliged to humour all his whims, and +keep silent when we disapproved of his practices.'</p> + +<p>'You are—just the Brian I knew you were!' she exclaimed gratefully.</p> + +<p>'Only poorer.'</p> + +<p>'A new post will be found some day. Meanwhile you will have a +badly-needed rest!'</p> + +<p>'The literary labour-market is fearfully overcrowded, Catherine. I doubt +if I shall obtain more employment,—not before Christmas, at all events. +Every week of idleness postpones our wedding day.'</p> + +<p>'God will help us, even in worldly matters, if we ask Him to, and if we +trust Him, dearest. Tell me, have you <i>thought</i>, as you promised to +think? Have you studied your Bible? Have you prayed for faith?'</p> + +<p>'Yes, to all three questions. I do believe, but my new<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> faith is not +strong enough to stand some tests I have put it to—one test +especially.'</p> + +<p>'What is it?'</p> + +<p>'If God took you away from me, Cath, I could not forgive Him.'</p> + +<p>'Yet God gave me to you. But for His will we should never have crossed +one another's paths, never loved one another.'</p> + +<p>'That truth would in no way minimise the loss we are supposing.'</p> + +<p>'If I were to die, you would not wish that we had never loved one +another?'</p> + +<p>'No, no!'</p> + +<p>'Then, by your own admission, God would have conferred a boon upon you, +even if He had done that which, in thought, appals you.'</p> + +<p>'The apparent cruelty of His will would not be less.'</p> + +<p>'You are not rebellious now because we are parted for weeks together, +Brian.'</p> + +<p>'Because I am hoping for a time when we shall be always together, +dearest.'</p> + +<p>She smiled radiantly.</p> + +<p>'Ah! you have answered your own doubt! <i>Life</i> is only as a day compared +with eternity. What though God, for some wise and good purpose, were to +part us on earth! has He not promised an everlasting home of perfect +happiness after life? Oh, dear boy, let us praise Him every hour for the +gift of love He has generously bestowed on us. Don't let us use His gift +to deny Him! Besides, it is wrong for a weak human creature to consider +persistently and hopelessly all the possible sorrows of his future. God +has promised not to fail us, to send us grace sufficient for the +differing needs of every crisis. We can't expect to be brave <i>in +advance</i>, but we must trust Him to give us our "daily bread."'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span></p> + +<p>'You mean that if God takes you from me some day, He will give me +strength to bear the blow?'</p> + +<p>'Yes, dear; that is certain.'</p> + +<p>'And I am no hypocrite if I thank Him for a gift which I cannot yet bear +the thought of His recalling?'</p> + +<p>'Not if you try honestly to pray, as He taught us, "Thy will be done." +That does not mean that you think yourself ready, unaided, to bear the +blow, only that you admit His right to do as He pleases with His own +creations, and that you believe His will to be designed for our highest +welfare.'</p> + +<p>Brian sighed, as a man does from whom a great trouble has departed.</p> + +<p>'I will believe that God is good, therefore that He is merciful to the +weakness of His servants. My faith grows stronger when you teach me, +Catherine.'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX</h2> + +<h3>An Important Offer</h3> + + +<p>Mrs. Arderne had kindly invited Brian North to stay to lunch, as he and +Catherine were to go to Carm Hall early that afternoon.</p> + +<p>'On your return from the visit to Mr. Carmichael you can take your bag +and find an inn,' she suggested.</p> + +<p>During the meal she occupied herself in studying Brian, 'drawing him +out,' by artful questions on literary and other matters. While quite +aware of her scrutiny and purpose, he allowed himself to gratify her +curiosity as much as possible, acknowledging tacitly her right as +Catherine's friend to be anxious lest Catherine's lover should prove a +simpleton or a cad!</p> + +<p>Brian was keenly amused. Not being a very young man, he was free from +self-consciousness under the investigation, and was able to repay study +by study. Vivacious, worldly little Mrs. Arderne, with her contradictory +feelings towards Catherine's lover—half desirous of agreeing with +Catherine's choice, yet disappointed because Catherine had been 'so +romantic' as to accept a penniless suitor—was a charmingly inconsistent +character for the writer to consider.</p> + +<p>The result of this mutual interest was naturally twofold. Brian decided +that he was glad Catherine possessed so true-hearted a friend, and Mrs. +Arderne came to the conclusion that Brian was a man of delightful +manners, brilliant wit, good breeding, and undoubted talents—a fit +husband for Catherine in every way but that of fortune!</p> + +<p>Lunch over, Ted and Toddie came down to be played<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> with as usual, and +immediately insisted upon questioning Mr. North at great length as to +where he lived, and why he lived there, what he did all day long, and +why he did it, etc., etc. By his answers he gave purposely an accurate +account of his circumstances,—more for the information of Mrs. Arderne +than to please her children.</p> + +<p>'I write for papers—sometimes all night long, while you little people +are comfortably sleeping,' he said, laughingly lifting them on to his +knees. 'It is tiring work, and I can't say I'm fond of doing it; I +should like to sit at home and write about things that interest me—to +make books, you know. Only people are not paid for doing the things that +amuse them, and if I did not work for money I shouldn't ever have any +jam to eat with my bread and butter. I really doubt if I should have +even the bread without the butter!'</p> + +<p>Ted and Toddie stared solemnly at him.</p> + +<p>'It's <i>your</i> lessons. We don't get money at all for doing ours, though.'</p> + +<p>'For shame, Ted!' cried Catherine. 'You get prizes when you are good, +industrious children, and your work is not worth money yet. Some day, +when you are quite grown up, you will be able to earn payment, as Mr. +North does, but only if you learn well while you are young.'</p> + +<p>'Did <i>you</i> learn well when you were six?' asked Toddie, anxiously +peering into his face.</p> + +<p>'I am not quite certain, dear, but I was always very fond of reading.'</p> + +<p>'And I say, are you working for prizes too, as we are?'</p> + +<p>Brian glanced smilingly at Catherine, who blushed radiantly as he +answered:</p> + +<p>'Yes, Ted, for a prize that is very beautiful; but I cannot stay to tell +you now what the prize is, because I am going out with Miss Carmichael +this afternoon.'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span></p> + +<p>'Carr, you'll tell us all about it to-night, won't you?'</p> + +<p>''Bout Mr. North's prize!' added Toddie.</p> + +<p>An interruption occurred at this moment. A servant brought in a note for +Catherine, and explained that Mr. Carmichael's carriage had come for +her.</p> + +<p>The letter was as follows:</p> + +<blockquote><p>'<span class="smcap">Carm Hall.</span></p> + +<p>'<span class="smcap">My dear Niece</span>,—</p> + +<p>'I hope you will give me as much of your society as possible to-day +(bringing Mr. North with you, if he has arrived yet in +Beverbridge); but apart from this desire of mine, pray keep the +carriage waiting as long as suits your convenience.</p> + +<p>'Believe me to be,</p> + +<p>'Your affectionate uncle,</p> + +<p>'<span class="smcap">Ross Carmichael</span>.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>'Oh, good-bye to our nice walk!' sighed the girl mischievously, as she +handed the note to Brian. 'A closed carriage too! I see it through the +window! And this is such a lovely autumn day! Dear old uncle, I ought to +be ashamed of my grumbles, though, for he meant to show me a most +considerate attention!'</p> + +<p>Brian laughed, as he answered:</p> + +<p>'The walk is a loss, certainly, but by driving we shall be able to spend +a longer time at Carm Hall, and I am anxious to make the acquaintance of +your relatives.'</p> + +<p>'Mr. Carmichael is a charming old gentleman,' said Mrs. Arderne.</p> + +<p>'And what is Colonel Carmichael, please, ma'am?'</p> + +<p>'My darling girl, don't question me in that impertinent fashion. My +admiration for your elder uncle does not make me blind to the charm of +the younger.'</p> + +<p>'Uncle Jack impressed you favourably, I am certain, though you saw so +little of him!'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span></p> + +<p>'Mr. North, do you mean to allow Catherine to obstinately insist upon +offending Mr. Ross Carmichael?'</p> + +<p>Brian looked from the interrogator to Catherine's demurely smiling face, +then back again.</p> + +<p>'If I wished Catherine to be worldly-wise, Mrs. Arderne, I should be +wishing her to give me up.'</p> + +<p>'No, not necessarily,' cried the kind little woman, anxious to make +amends for having reminded him of his poverty. 'If Mr. Ross takes a +fancy to you, he might—do anything for you both. He is already much +attached to his niece. It is only her obstinate choice of a home with +Uncle Jack that stands in the way of her heiress-ship!'</p> + +<p>'While Catherine sees a work awaiting her, she will become happy only by +doing it. I would rather she should be happy than rich.'</p> + +<p>'Then <i>you</i> believe in her possession of a serious vocation to convert +the inhabitants of Redan Cottage?'</p> + +<p>'I always believe in a woman's vocation to do that good which she +clearly sees ought to be done, and for which her gifts and sympathies +fit her,' he answered gravely.</p> + +<p>'Oh, Brian, thank you!' the girl cried gratefully.</p> + +<p>'I thought that only Catherine was quixotic and imprudent, but now I see +that you are both in the conspiracy to ruin your prospects!' was Mrs. +Arderne's regretful reply. 'At least you need not let Uncle Ross's +horses catch their deaths of cold! Go and get ready, Catherine, foolish +child!'</p> + +<p>As they were driven along the well-kept country road leading to Carm +Hall, Catherine and Brian talked of their 'prospects' almost as +practically as Mrs. Arderne could have done, but they were the prospects +of finding work for him, not an heiress-ship for her! And to an +irreligious or God-forgetting person their trust in the efficacy of +asking heavenly aid would, no doubt, have seemed childish. They were +content, however, because now they both<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> believed that God would provide +for the necessities of those who turned to Him in faith.</p> + +<p>It was Mr. Carmichael's footman, not his personal attendant, James, who +opened the door of Carm Hall to them, and they were ushered into the +large drawing-room, where the master of the house was awaiting them.</p> + +<p>'Uncle Ross, I have brought Brian, you see!'</p> + +<p>'I am glad to make your acquaintance, Mr. North.'</p> + +<p>These were the first words spoken.</p> + +<p>Some time elapsed before the trio could shake off the strangeness of +their meeting; even the elderly man was conscious of a feeling of +awkwardness. Brian, who had come to be inspected, was perhaps most at +ease. It was due, chiefly, to his adroit management of the situation +that conversation became more confidential before long.</p> + +<p>In speaking of some news of the day, he alluded to the opinion advocated +on the subject by the paper for which he had formerly worked, and +expressed his regret at having lost his employment.</p> + +<p>'For, as you know, sir, I am a very poor man, with the best possible +reason for desiring success in my profession.'</p> + +<p>'Catherine says you are a hard worker when work is ready for you to do,' +said Mr. Carmichael.</p> + +<p>'It would be strange if I were not, since our home depends upon my +industry,' answered Brian, with a smile. 'We have been making each other +very hopeful—haven't we, Catherine?—by deciding that work usually +comes to those who are anxious and <i>able</i> to do it.'</p> + +<p>'Work, perhaps—though personally I doubt your optimistic theory—but +not always the kind of work desired.'</p> + +<p>'It would only be a question of capability with me. I would do any +honourable remunerative task.'</p> + +<p>Uncle Ross began to question Brian closely as to the writing he had +done, and the extent of his literary and journalistic experience, and +the talk became animated,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> interspersed with anecdotes of celebrated +literature, and keen, clever expressions of opinion by the younger man.</p> + +<p>Catherine sat silent, listening and taking pride in her lover. That +Uncle Ross was pleased was evident.</p> + +<p>It was after tea—over which Catherine presided—that a chance question +brought discord among them. Mr. Carmichael asked their plans.</p> + +<p>Was Mr. North staying long in Beverbridge? and how much of his time was +already allotted?</p> + +<p>'None, except this evening, when I believe I am to have the pleasure of +making your brother's acquaintance,' answered Brian.</p> + +<p>The frown, almost habitual, but which had been invisible during the last +hour, returned to the squire's brow.</p> + +<p>'I regret that my niece continues to court the favour of those +persons—I should say of the person—who has wronged me.'</p> + +<p>'It was an involuntary wrong; Uncle Jack desires nothing so much as to +have his share in the quarrel forgiven him!'</p> + +<p>'When trust has been once broken, trust can never again be established. +Catherine, I wish you to be happy; Mr. North, I hope to make you an +offer which you will be able to accept without loss of independence; but +I do require from you both some practical evidence of your +consideration.'</p> + +<p>'But, uncle dear, I have been offered a home at Redan Cottage, and +though I do not mean to give up my situation as Mrs. Arderne's +companion, I have promised always to regard Uncle Jack's home as my +own.'</p> + +<p>'You have done this in defiance of my objection?'</p> + +<p>'Agatha wants me, poor lonely little soul! and from whom but an uncle +could I accept a shelter?'</p> + +<p>'True. I regret that my offer was not made first. However, all that is +necessary now is that you should<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> inform—the—the other uncle that you +are obliged, for Mr. North's sake, to withdraw your acceptance of the +home.'</p> + +<p>'Why "for Mr. North's sake"?' asked the girl, going at once to the root +of the matter. Uncle Ross knew that this inducement was the strongest he +could offer, and she, by her question, admitted as much.</p> + +<p>'I will tell you my plan,' said Mr. Carmichael, 'though I had intended +waiting for a day or two, until Mr. North and I had begun to understand +one another more. It is this. I purchase the paper known as <i>The +Circle</i>, and become sole proprietor. It is in the market, and is as safe +an investment as any I know. Then I offer Mr. North the editorship, with +a yearly increasing share in the profits. At my death he shall become +proprietor in my stead. The sole return I require from either of you is +a reasonable amount of companionship—say a frequent Saturday to Monday +visit, as the paper is a weekly one, and occasional longer stays here at +Carm Hall—with a cessation of your visits to the brother who has +injured me. In the interests of peace and goodwill, I would sanction a +meeting between you and him at Christmastide.'</p> + +<p>While the squire had been speaking he had watched the faces of his +auditors, had noted and apprised the strength of glad surprise, of +gratitude, of hope, of disappointment, of disapproval. He could scarcely +believe that his offer would be refused, yet he saw how trustfully Brian +turned towards Catherine, leaving her to answer, and how brave was the +determination in Catherine's eyes.</p> + +<p>'Uncle, your offer of help is a very large one, and we both thank you +for it; but I cannot, even for Brian's sake, break my word to Uncle +Jack, who was the first to offer me a home, and to Agatha, who wants me. +Neither could I enter upon a share in the quarrel, taking your part in +it, since I believe that, though Uncle Jack may have acted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> imprudently, +he never meant to make Loring turn against you. I think that you might +hold out a hand to him. He would be so glad, for he frets over your +estrangement, and prays for you every day.'</p> + +<p>'My dear niece, even a young and charming woman is not entitled to give +advice to her elders. On my part, I advise you not to let mere sentiment +stand in the way of your future husband's advancement in life.'</p> + +<p>'I could not be so much indebted to you while I blame you in my heart. +Oh, uncle, if a young woman ought not to judge her elders, when she is +called upon to decide between them, she is obliged to consider what is +her duty! My choice was declared when Uncle Jack made to me the best +offer in his power, and Brian will not wish me to break my word to him, +to agree to behave towards him as though I possessed one tithe less of +the respect, love and admiration I have always felt for him!'</p> + +<p>Brian responded to this appeal gravely and resolutely.</p> + +<p>'While regretting the necessity to refuse so generous an offer, I think +Catherine is quite right. This family quarrel exists through no fault of +ours, so maybe it is not fair that we should suffer through it; but as +we have to choose a side in it, we are bound in honour to make the +choice in sympathy with our honest opinion of the right, not letting +ourselves be influenced by the gain or loss of any worldly advantage. In +Catherine's name, as well as in my own, sir, I express a hope that our +being unable to accept favours from you will not prevent our owning your +friendship.'</p> + +<p>The squire turned abruptly aside and crossed the room to the window, +where he stood for a few minutes gazing out. Land, houses, wealth, +position, ease,—all these things had been scorned once by young Loring +Carmichael; now they were once again refused by Catherine and her poor +journalist lover. Yet the squire had spent his lifetime<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> in amassing +these goods,—had made great sacrifices for them, had toiled feverishly +in his youth, and plodded through his best years of manhood,—had +believed that wealth rules the world, and is the chief power over men +and women. This second blow was a hard one, but he was too proud a man +to wish to show chagrin.</p> + +<p>As he returned from the window he replied to Brian.</p> + +<p>'You must forgive me if I think you foolish. Having made you an offer, +for which you have been good enough to express gratitude, it would be +unreasonable were I to quarrel with you for refusing it. Your peculiarly +delicate conscience will interfere with your chances in life, I fancy; +but argument with an obstinate man is worse than useless.'</p> + +<p>Catherine approached him, and clasped his right arm with her two hands, +crying pleadingly:</p> + +<p>'Uncle, say you forgive me for refusing. I don't want to lose your +affection. I told you the other day that I sought you out for the sake +of your old kindness to me, with no idea that a penniless niece might be +helped by your money.'</p> + +<p>The ring of truth in her voice touched the old man's heart, making him +yet more regret her refusal of his offer. Here was honesty shining +behind those frank brown eyes, and he half repented having hedged his +plan round with conditions. But obstinacy, the fault of his old age, +prevented him from withdrawing one of his former words.</p> + +<p>'I forgive you, Catherine. I trust you may not suffer much through your +folly,' was his sole answer.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X</h2> + +<h3>The Unexpected Happens</h3> + + +<p>Catherine's choice had been finally made, approved by Brian and +declared. They decided that there was no need to tell Uncle Jack of the +offer Uncle Ross had made them, not unless he were to question them in +such a manner that truth would be sacrificed by silence. And this did +not happen. The colonel was anxious to be assured that his brother would +not quarrel with them on account of Catherine's promise to regard Redan +Cottage as home, and when he was gratified by receiving this assurance +he believed that all was well.</p> + +<p>'Uncle Ross has forgiven me. I shall go to see him sometimes, just as I +have been doing,' she said.</p> + +<p>Those were delightful days during which Brian remained in Beverbridge. +Not only did Mrs. Arderne kindly invite him a great deal to her house, +but she allowed her companion so much liberty that the young people were +almost constantly in one another's company.</p> + +<p>'I'm afraid I haven't been of much service to you lately!' the girl +exclaimed penitently, when Brian had returned to town.</p> + +<p>'Nonsense, my dear!' was the little lady's prompt answer. 'You simply +obeyed my wishes, which happened to coincide with your own. I derived a +great deal of entertainment as well as pleasure from observing you and +your lover. Good gracious, what a weary-looking, thin fellow he is! But +his holiday did him good, and his face<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> was rapidly gaining a peaceful +expression, which I hope it won't lose directly he sets to work again.'</p> + +<p>'Oh no, that expression has come to stay!' Catherine replied, with a +happy smile.</p> + +<p>'What do you mean, you perplexing young woman? How can you possibly +tell? Your Brian will begin to overwork himself again just as soon as he +gets an opportunity. And unless he does, thanks to your united folly, +you will never be able to get married.'</p> + +<p>'Brian's peace doesn't come from any cause that can be taken away from +him, dear Mrs. Arderne. Not even great fatigue, nor a breakdown in +health could rob him of it.'</p> + +<p>'Religion again, Catherine!'</p> + +<p>'Yes; trust in God. Oh, I wish you would rejoice with me over Brian's +new knowledge! I wish you would understand what true happiness is, you +dearest of employers!'</p> + +<p>Mrs. Arderne kissed the speaker, but shook her head.</p> + +<p>'I've not a religious mind, Catherine. It refuses to concern itself +chiefly with spiritual matters. The unseen thing called faith was always +a mystery to me. Of course, God must exist, since we do, and the earth +must have been made by Him; but if He wants us to love Him, He should +manifest Himself to us.'</p> + +<p>'So He does, in wonderful ways to those who seek Him. You would not have +Him speak intimately to persons who will not listen for His voice? In +countless mysteries He is always proving His power, in the things He has +created; but human beings turn away their eyes from the evidences of His +power and their own helplessness. Directly a soul begins to grope after +the light, light comes in plenty. It is those souls which do not wish +for faith which remain desolate for want of it!'</p> + +<p>'No wonder, say I, that some do not wish for it, since its possession +seems to entail upon them such extremes of self-sacrifice.'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span></p> + +<p>Catherine pondered this remark, Mrs. Arderne watching her face +meanwhile, and admiring the grace of her bended neck and the sweetness +of her smile.</p> + +<p>'Do you know, dear friend, I think all the better parts of ourselves are +in great sympathy with self-sacrifice' (this was the outcome of her +reflections), 'since love is the greatest joy we know, and love means +preferring another's happiness to our own. If a man loves a comrade, he +will go into dangers for his sake; if a woman loves her husband, even if +he be unkind to her, she will spend her life in trying to make his +happiness, and in shielding him from blame; and what will not some +mothers give up for the sake of their children? This seems to me to be +the truth of the matter—that self-sacrifice becomes happiness when it +is founded upon sufficient love. No doubt happiness follows any +renunciation for the sake of duty; but the other is the more human point +of view.'</p> + +<p>'And what lesson do you deduce from that truth, Catherine?' Mrs. Arderne +was interested in the study of her companion's opinions.</p> + +<p>'That love of God makes sweet and easy every sacrifice made for Him. +Christ, the great Model of self-renunciation, appeals for sympathy to +the better self within each one of us—which was created in us—the +breath of God in man. And it is only those who let God live within the +soul, who do not hinder His work, who desire His guidance and control, +who feel strong enough to be happy in a life which is all uncertainty. +The luckiest man in all the world may be destined for overwhelming +misery and pain to-morrow; it is only the man whose happiness consists +in obedience to God's will, and in hope for an eternity cf perfect joy, +whose peace neither fear nor suffering <i>can</i> overwhelm!'</p> + +<p>'It is a pity that we do not have female clergy, my dear. If we did, you +might become a popular preacher.'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span></p> + +<p>'Oh, you are laughing at me! Am I too fond of talking about my opinions? +I was only trying my best to answer the questions you asked me.'</p> + +<p>'Yes, I know. I like to listen to you, though I wish you were less +convincing. My own life always looks a poor, dreary, selfish one, filled +with perils I've no courage to face, and my longing to be braver always +frets me, after I have heard some of your sermonettes, child. If great +misery or suffering were to overwhelm me to-morrow, I don't know what I +should do!'</p> + +<p>'You would lay your burden upon the Saviour, would you not, you +darling?'</p> + +<p>'How could I, after ignoring His existence so long as my life was +placid. Certainly He must be generous, or He would send trials at once +to test me, and to prove His power.'</p> + +<p>'If He did, it would only be in His mercy, in order to expose you to the +influence without which you will not seek the only lasting happiness.'</p> + +<p>Mrs. Arderne sighed.</p> + +<p>'I <i>will</i> turn over a new leaf; you shall help me, dear. I have been +very much worried of late, because my husband wants me to rejoin him +soon in India, and I don't want to go out there. My babes must stay in +England. I will not have their health injured, perhaps permanently, by +my selfish longing to keep them with me; and how can I bear to part from +the darlings?'</p> + +<p>There was a tremor in the mother's voice.</p> + +<p>Catherine clasped the little woman in her arms, and laid her cheek +against her face.</p> + +<p>'Oh, you might have told me sooner of your anxiety! Would it not have +been easier to bear, if you had told some one, even me, who would have +sympathised?'</p> + +<p>'I knew you would say I must go. It <i>is</i> my duty, I admit. Henry has let +me have a long holiday trip—first<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> to Australia, now to England. I have +seen all my friends and relatives, and recovered my own health. With the +exception that it is terribly hard to leave my children, there is not +the slightest excuse for me to stay here.'</p> + +<p>'Is the climate <i>really</i> so bad?'</p> + +<p>'For children, yes. They shall not grow up sickly because their mother +thought more of her own happiness than of their welfare.'</p> + +<p>'And you expressed a wonder, only a few minutes ago, that any one could +desire faith which might entail self-sacrifice! Oh, you dear, brave +little mother, even while you are lonely for want of your babies, will +you not be proud and glad because you have loved them better than +yourself? That is the way in which gladness comes from loving God. And +it is He alone who can comfort you, to whom you can pray for Ted and +Toddie; to whose loving care you can confide them, knowing that He can +guard them better even than your love could do, were you always close +beside them!'</p> + +<p>Mrs. Arderne laid her hand on her companion's shoulder, and indulged in +a hearty cry.</p> + +<p>'Oh, Cath!' she said at last, 'I <i>must</i> learn to love God now, for I +shall be so lonely in India, and I must feel that I can do something for +the babies when I am far away from them. He won't be angry and refuse to +listen to me, will He, because so long as I was quite happy I did not +serve Him?'</p> + +<p>'The labourer who came at the eleventh hour into the vineyard received +the same pay as those who had borne the heat and labour of the whole +day. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but +that the world through Him might be saved.'</p> + +<p>After another silence Mrs. Arderne said:</p> + +<p>'When I go, you will take charge of Ted and Toddie? Promise me that, +Catherine. Whether you live in Redan<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> Cottage, or in your husband's +home, you can give a shelter to my babes. There need be no difficulty +about money, for I can make a liberal allowance for their comfort, and +to do <i>something</i> towards recompensing your care of them. This idea only +occurred to me the other day, after I received Henry's letter asking me +to come back soon to him, and then I felt I could have hugged you for +refusing to be adopted by your Uncle Ross!'</p> + +<p>'He did not want to adopt me, dear. I should have had a home of my own. +Still, perhaps he would not have liked me to bring Ted and Toddie on +constant visits to Carm Hall; and if I have charge of them, I will never +be parted from them.'</p> + +<p>'If? Tell me you <i>will</i>, Catherine. I can only be happy about them if I +leave them in your care.'</p> + +<p>'I promise I will have them, if Uncle Jack does not refuse, and he is +not likely to do that.'</p> + +<p>'You do not speak of Brian's opinion.'</p> + +<p>'There is no need. Brian will be glad for me to do anything in the world +that I can do to ease your anxiety. Besides, are you not making me a +most helpful offer? You are going to keep on your companion, letting her +live at home. She would be altogether delighted, were it not that she +will be parted from you!'</p> + +<p>'You must write to me, Cath, very, <i>very</i> often; and you won't let the +babes forget me, will you? Oh, but I know you will not! Your salary must +be doubled, so that you are no expense to Uncle Jack, and we will decide +on a sum to pay for the board of Ted and Toddie. Dear child, it is a +comfort to me to feel that you will benefit by my misfortune. You'll be +able to save money, to help your lover, and in a few years Henry will +bring me back to England.'</p> + +<p>After a little more discussion of this plan, Mrs. Arderne sent Catherine +to take the news to Redan Cottage.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI</h2> + +<h3>Confidences and an Attempt</h3> + + +<p>Only Agatha was at home this evening, and her joy may be imagined.</p> + +<p>'Oh, <i>Catherine</i>; you will come to live here, with those two dear +children? We shall have you, just as we planned to do! and you are +<i>glad</i> to come!'</p> + +<p>A short while ago the little girl would have said, '<i>I</i> shall have you,' +and would not have troubled to question whether or not the arrangement +would bring joy to others; but the influence of Catherine's teaching was +working within this heart.</p> + +<p>'Glad?—yes indeed, dearie!'</p> + +<p>'And you will talk to me every day about God, until He seems real and +near? Then I shall not be so dreadfully afraid of dying.'</p> + +<p>The colonel returned to the house early in the evening, to be greeted by +the radiant smiles of his niece and ward. The former rose from her low +seat by Agatha's couch, and advanced to meet him with her hands +outstretched, and cried,—</p> + +<p>'I want to come "home" to stay, dear uncle. Will you have me?'</p> + +<p>It was sweet for her to see the joyous light that broke over his face as +he listened to her explanations, for she learned to understand more and +more how much he had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> wanted her. His earnest words of welcome were not +necessary, though they also were sweet to Catherine. Later, when he was +walking back to Woodley Villa with her, she learned a fact which robbed +her prospects of some of their joyousness, but which made her trebly +thankful that she was to live 'at home' for the future.</p> + +<p>They had reached the gate of Mrs. Arderne's house, when Uncle Jack laid +his hand detainingly on his niece's arm, and said,—</p> + +<p>'Lassie, you know that my pension is a very small one, and that it will +die with me?'</p> + +<p>'Yes?'</p> + +<p>'When Agatha comes of age, if she lives, she will come into a tiny +fortune; but meanwhile, the sum that was allowed me for her maintenance +is barely sufficient.'</p> + +<p>'Are you afraid that I shall prove an extravagant housekeeper?'</p> + +<p>'No, dear,—no. But if I were to die,—what would become of Agatha?'</p> + +<p>'Could I take care of her,—I mean, would she suffer if I had to provide +for her altogether out of that sum which you say is barely sufficient?'</p> + +<p>'You could do it, lassie, but she would be a great tie.'</p> + +<p>'I will never desert her while she needs me. Even if Brian would not let +me have her with me, and you know that is an unnecessary supposition, I +could make arrangements for her to board and lodge somewhere quite near, +so that I could be often with her. You meant, did you not, that you +could not bear to think of her being left lonely, and obliged to think +and manage for herself? I would prevent that.'</p> + +<p>Uncle Jack smiled, and squeezed the arm he was holding.</p> + +<p>'God bless you, dearest,—you have taken a load of anxiety off my mind! +Yes, that <i>was</i> all I meant. I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> couldn't endure the thought that my poor +Agatha might be utterly alone. Probably my brother would offer her a +home,—but I could not count upon that.'</p> + +<p>'But you—you are not going to die soon. I mean you—you are not ill?'</p> + +<p>'For a year past I have had need to be careful of myself. My heart is in +a wrong condition, so the doctor tells me. In fact, lassie, his warnings +simply amount to this, which we all believe of ourselves,—that I might +die any moment, if God so pleased.'</p> + +<p>For a while Catherine was speechless. Then she realised the truth which +the colonel's words had suggested—threatened his life might be, but it +could not end until the Creator had ordained that he should die.</p> + +<p>'No wonder you have been anxious about Agatha. Dearest uncle, do not +worry about her any more. Please God, we will keep you for many, many +years to come, but if He were to call you away from us, we would cling +to one another for all our lives.'</p> + +<p>'Lassie, lassie,—I didn't mean to bring tears into your eyes! You +mustn't be less brave than your words. We are all under orders,—and a +good soldier never lets himself fear the next command.'</p> + +<p>'No, I will remember your advice,—colonel.'</p> + +<p>There was a smile on her lips now, as she gazed lovingly into the old +man's face.</p> + +<p>'This is a secret from Agatha, of course—she is not strong enough yet +to bear burdens that can be spared her. You and I are more like +comrades, lassie, who can hearten and strengthen one another by +exchanging ideas and knowledge.'</p> + +<p>'I shall always ask God to help me to help you, then, Uncle Jack, for +you are naturally a brave fighter, while I am but a girl.'</p> + +<p>'Many a woman's courage has shamed a man! I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> remember hearing how, just +before the battle of Inkerman——'</p> + +<p>And then followed an anecdote, the telling of which brought fire into +the eyes of the old soldier, and a thrill into his voice. Catherine, +watching him, guessed that it was in this unconscious manner that he had +inspired poor Loring Carmichael with that love for the military +profession which had caused him to anger his Uncle Ross.</p> + +<p>An unconscious influence!—this it was for which Uncle Ross would not +forgive his brother, who daily grieved for the estrangement between +them!</p> + +<p>And though Loring had died young, had he not died honourably? Since +there must be soldiers, why, some must die young,—and all honour be to +them! Surely Uncle Jack had done Loring no great injury after all. The +young man had been spared the temptations of long life, and had gone to +find the reward which the King of Battles gives to all loyal-hearted +fighters.</p> + +<p>While hearing the anecdote of the battle of Inkerman, Catherine +Carmichael once more resolved to make every effort to bring about a +reconciliation between her uncles.</p> + +<p>'That was a fine story!' she cried, when the tale was ended.</p> + +<p>'Yes, lassie; women are very brave,—often. You have made me happy +to-night. I could say you have taken away my last trouble, if it were +not for Ross' anger against me. God knows I would give the rest of my +life, if possible, in exchange for the reinstating of the old regard we +had for one another! We were devoted to one another as lads and young +men, Catherine. There was never a quarrel between us,—and we were +friends, true, absolute friends, until Ross caught the gold fever, that +passion for money-earning and hoarding which ruins many men.'</p> + +<p>'That was the beginning of your estrangement?'</p> + +<p>'That began to put us out of sympathy; but I want him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> just as badly as +ever, lassie. After almost a lifetime of brotherly affection, this +separation is terrible. I think the tie that binds one man's heart to +another is tremendously powerful. I shouldn't wonder if Ross were +wishing for my friendship all the while almost as strongly as I long for +his; but his pride has grown very stubborn, and I did him an undoubted +injury, though I meant no harm.'</p> + +<p>'God will answer our prayers, Uncle Jack, dear. The reconciliation will +come some day.'</p> + +<p>'His will be done!' was the reverent answer. Then the colonel suddenly +remembered how long he had kept his niece standing talking by the +gate,—and they parted with a great hand-clasp,—'just like +comrade-soldiers,' as Catherine thought to herself.</p> + +<p>She ran indoors, and sought out Mrs. Arderne, who was in the nursery +putting away the toys which Ted and Toddie had been playing with before +they had been carried away to bed.</p> + +<p>'Cath! your face has a cloud over it!'</p> + +<p>'Oh, you quick-sighted friend!—Yes, I want to tell you about +something—about Uncle Jack.'</p> + +<p>The little woman drew a chair forward, and made the tall girl sit down; +then standing beside her, pillowed her brown head on her arm.</p> + +<p>'Let me hear all,—it is my turn to try to comfort you now!'</p> + +<p>Gradually the tale was told, and Catherine did not pretend not to be +deeply grieved about her uncle's illness. Warm-hearted, tender-natured +as she was, she could not fail to sorrow over the news he had told her +of his state of health, although she never lost consciousness of that +beautiful truth that God was taking care of him.</p> + +<p>'You see, God may mean to take him from me soon,' she explained, +clinging to the encircling arm. 'I cannot tell <i>how</i> soon. God has a +right to do so. His decrees are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> always for our good, but—but—I love +Uncle Jack so truly, and I have only just found him! It seems so hard to +contemplate the possibility of having to give him up to God just yet. +You won't think me wicked, or a hypocrite, to be feeling like this, will +you?'</p> + +<p>'No, no, childie! Your religion would not be beautiful at all, if it did +not make allowance for natural human feelings. Resignation must be the +result of sorrow, mustn't it? Poor, dear old gentleman! I hope and trust +that he may be spared to you for a long, long time. And you know, dear, +threatened lives are often lengthy. You must take great care of him.'</p> + +<p>'Indeed I will! Do you not think that his trouble must be very bad for +him?—his regret about the quarrel? He told me to-night that he would +gladly give the rest of his life, if by so doing he could become friends +again with his brother.'</p> + +<p>'Can't you soften Mr. Carmichael's heart by telling him of his brother's +illness?'</p> + +<p>Catherine raised her face, and eagerly considered this suggestion.</p> + +<p>'Oh, if I only could coax him to make the least advance, or even to meet +Uncle Jack somewhere for a talk, the battle would be won! It is +dreadfully selfish of me to be sitting here crying, when I ought to be +forming plans of action and praying for success with them!'</p> + +<p>'Oh, you energetic young woman, you need not grudge yourself five +minutes' rest and indulgence in tears! Why, a good cry sometimes does a +girl a world of good, and acts as a tonic, so that she can work fifty +times better after it.'</p> + +<p>'I know, and you are such a dear to cry upon!'</p> + +<p>'We are to be parted so soon, Cath, that it is best for us to help one +another all we can now.'</p> + +<p>'Will it be very soon? Agatha asked me, but I told her that I did not +know.'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span></p> + +<p>'I have been making my plans while you were away, and I have decided to +leave England the week after next. Nurse can have board wages instead of +her notice, unless, indeed, you would like to keep her on. You are quite +welcome to do so, if you prefer it.'</p> + +<p>'There would be no room for her in Redan Cottage, and I would much +rather have Ted and Toddie all to myself. You do not imagine that I +regard a nurse's daily work as hard or derogatory, do you? Why, it is +some of the best and greatest labour a woman can possibly find to do!'</p> + +<p>'My children are extraordinarily lucky little people to be left in your +care, Catherine!' said the mother gratefully.</p> + +<p>'So you will be with your husband for Christmas?'</p> + +<p>'Yes,—poor Henry! I had contemplated inviting lots of friends down to +stay with me, and indulging in all the Yule-tide frivolities and +entertainments of the neighbourhood—dances, etc.; but my heart has +reproached me too strongly. Thanks to you, I'm not half as +pleasure-craving a butterfly as I used to be. Duty seems not only best, +but happiest. Once I have got over the parting with you and the chicks, +I know I shall be glad to be with Henry, in spite of the climate.'</p> + +<p>The two women kissed one another, and clung together, feeling that their +troubles had wrought a strong tie of sympathy between them. Then ensued +a long, thoughtful silence, which was broken at last by Catherine's +earnest, low-toned voice, saying,—</p> + +<p>'Do you remember the words of Jesus Christ to Simon Peter: "I have +prayed for thee that thy faith fail not; and when thou are converted, +strengthen thy brethren"? I have always thought that so touching an +instance of our Lord's mercy! For He knew that Peter was about to deny +Him, yet He prayed that in sin he might not lose his faith, but, in +spite of his errors, come to be a teacher of others.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> Dearest of +friends, I am only an ignorant, sinful creature, but if we ask God to +help me, He will teach me how to watch over and train Ted and Toddie, so +that they may not suffer for want of their mother's presence.'</p> + +<p>'Cath,—teach them to be like yourself, and I shall be more than +satisfied!'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII</h2> + +<h3>Good-bye</h3> + + +<p>Catherine wrote two long letters next morning—one to Brian, the other +to Uncle Ross—to acquaint them with her new prospects. She concluded +the letter to her uncle in this way:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>'I shall be sorry if my going to live at Redan Cottage displeases +you, but I know you will be glad for me to do anything I can to +serve my kind friend, Mrs. Arderne,—and remember, you promised not +to quarrel seriously with</p> + +<p>'Your affectionate niece,</p> + +<p>'<span class="smcap">Catherine Carmichael</span>.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>In the course of the same day she received his reply, brought down to +her by a groom. Her uncle assured her of his esteem for Mrs. Arderne, +and his unalterable affection for herself, and expressed satisfaction +that the proposed change in her circumstances would be of pecuniary +advantage to her. Redan Cottage was not so much as mentioned, nor was +Uncle Jack nor Agatha.</p> + +<p>Brian's reply, which was lengthy, greatly comforted Catherine. Not only +did he thoroughly approve Mrs. Arderne's plan, but he sent such earnest +sympathy,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> combined with encouragement, on the subject of the colonel's +state of health, that his promised wife felt that she possessed in him a +consoler upon whose perfect understanding and stable judgments she could +always rely. And, in advising her to hope for success in her efforts to +effect reconciliation, he alluded to 'your happy faith, which you have +taught me to share.'</p> + +<p>During the following days Uncle Jack and Mrs. Arderne, Agatha, and the +children, met many times, and inaugurated friendships, greatly to +Catherine's delight.</p> + +<p>'That old man is a hero and a darling!' the vivacious little lady told +her companion one evening, after they had spent some hours at Redan +Cottage.</p> + +<p>'Yet you once wanted me to give up his friendship, to refuse his offer, +to practically behave as though I did not love him, and all for the sake +of Uncle Ross's money!'</p> + +<p>'Cath, don't throw my past folly in my face! I didn't know your uncle +then, and I felt sure you were championing the one because he was the +poorer,—out of a mingling of quixotic chivalry and obstinate pride.'</p> + +<p>'What is your opinion of my poor little Agatha?'</p> + +<p>'I don't like her—I've not advanced far enough in the study or practice +of universal charity to feel sure that I love her, as we are told to +love all men! As for loving her specially, as you seem to do, that is +quite out of the question for me,—a thing far beyond the bounds of +possibility.'</p> + +<p>'She only shows you her outward self,—the bad manners and forgetfulness +of others of a spoilt child; if she had shown you her heart, with all +its pathetic longings, fears, and affections, all its contradictory +beauty and ugliness, you would be just as fond of her as I am.'</p> + +<p>'I can't think so. The only reason why I feel the least tenderness +towards her is the fondness she shows for my babies.'</p> + +<p>'The more you see of her the faster will grow that tenderness.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> She is +one of the many girls who suffer countless deprivations on account of +their unconciliatory manners, and who remain lonely and morbid because +no one ever loves them well enough to gain their confidence.'</p> + +<p>'But supposing there seems nothing worth loving?'</p> + +<p>'That can't ever be—not to a person who sees God's +handiwork—something, therefore, of God's own beauty—in every human +face,' said Catherine.</p> + +<p>Before the day came for Mrs. Arderne's departure from Beverbridge, she +had become genuinely interested in Agatha, and much more friendly +towards her. Ted and Toddie, with the impulsiveness of their youth, had +forced their passage into Agatha's love. 'We only just wanted to be nice +at first, 'cause we was sowwy for you, 'cause you can't get up,' Ted +announced once; 'but now we weally loves 'oo.'</p> + +<p>And after a speech of this description, delivered by a truthful, +confiding, kissable urchin six years of age, and echoed by his more +demure but equally kissable sister, what could Agatha's pride do but +yield? She was always happy, even when suffering pain, if Ted and Toddie +were playing about the room, running up to her couch every few minutes +to ask her opinion or advice, or to bestow a 'weal good cuddle' upon +her.</p> + +<p>'Muvver, you've <i>no</i> idea how <i>vewwy</i> nice Ag'tha is,' declared Toddie.</p> + +<p>Ted one evening determined to break the ice between his mother and +Agatha, and proceeded to act upon his intention with his usual +all-subduing bluntness.</p> + +<p>'Ag'tha,' he announced, 'you like muvver, don't you? and muvver, you +like Ag'tha, don't you? So s'pose you just kiss one anover an' be fwends +ever afterwards?'</p> + +<p>The kiss was given, laughingly; indeed, it could not well be refused. +Agatha wondered if Ted were right, if Mrs. Arderne did really like her; +and this thought made her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> manner gentle and timid, the consequence of +which was that the child's surmise was proved accurate, even though it +had been a mistake at first.</p> + +<p>The time for the mother's departure arrived all too rapidly. She had +superintended the fitting up of Ted and Toddie's nursery in Redan +Cottage, had found out, with pride, that the little people were already +beloved by all the household, and knew that they were certain to be +quite happy with Catherine. Perhaps her heart suffered a few pangs +because of her knowledge that they would have grieved far more, had it +been Catherine who was obliged to leave them; but this reflection she +resolutely put away from her, as one likely to encourage selfishness. +After all, the fact was not strange. It was Catherine who had appealed +to the souls of the babies, taken notice of their young emotions, +studied their characters, helped and consoled them in their troubles; +she, the mother, had petted them egregiously when they pleased her, and +banished them without remorse when their prattle had tired her. By +assiduously caring for their health, she had imagined that her duty had +been fully done, but now, when it was too late, she realized that even +small children should be taught to respect the justice of praise and +blame, punishment and reward, and that they turn naturally with the +greatest affection to those who appeal to their generosity. While +Catherine had taught them 'Be good, or you will grieve your loving +Father in heaven, who sees you every minute of the day and night, who is +sorry when you are naughty, and glad when you are trying to please Him,' +Mrs. Arderne had ruled by alternate bribes and threats, such as, 'If you +are naughty, you shall not have that picture-book I promised you,' or, +'<i>Do</i> be good, Ted and Toddie, then you shall have those nice chocolates +out of the cupboard.'</p> + +<p>Often and often had Ted's spirit failed to be subdued by these means; he +had been known to answer, 'Don't care!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> do wivout choc'lates'; but a few +minutes' talk with Catherine had never been found to result in anything +but meekness and repentance.</p> + +<p>It was the old story—when worldly measures proved worthless, God's love +produced wonders.</p> + +<p>The day of farewells came at last, after a few days which had seemed to +lag because they had been filled with sorrow. Mrs. Arderne was to start +very early for London, so the parting with Ted and Toddie was a silent +one. Bending over them where they lay happily asleep in their cots—Ted +pouting and Toddie smiling seraphically—the mother would not waken them +to gratify herself at their expense. 'It's best that they don't know,' +she whispered, 'for they would cry, though you could soon comfort them.' +Then she kissed the rosy cheeks, laid her hands on the golden head and +the brown one, and let Catherine lead her out of the room.</p> + +<p>'Oh, Cath, Cath, be good to them!'</p> + +<p>'You know I will, dearest.'</p> + +<p>'Don't let them forget me. Try to make them remember their mother's good +points only, if she has any. I have not been the best of mothers, but it +was through ignorance; and, please God, I'll learn all about Him, so +that the children may not find me wanting in sympathy when I come home +to them.'</p> + +<p>'Pray for them night and morning, just when you feel sure they are +saying their prayers and asking God to bless "muvver."'</p> + +<p>'Oh, their dear little lisps! They won't be babies any longer when I see +them again, my darlings!'</p> + +<p>This was the worst parting; though the little woman clung to Catherine +at the last moment in the railway carriage, and felt, as she owned, that +she could scarcely bear to let her go, the mother's sorrow was naturally +the stronger, as was proved by her last words.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span></p> + +<p>'Be good to them, Cath, take care of them.'</p> + +<p>As the girl returned alone to the villa, to superintend the removal of +herself and the children to Redan Cottage and to part with the nurse, +she was conscious of a feeling of dread at the responsibility she had +adopted, as well as of a loneliness due to the loss of her friend; and +it was only by means of prayer that she regained courage.</p> + +<p>Not until Ted and Toddie were installed in their new home did Catherine +break the news to them of their mother's departure.</p> + +<p>'<i>Oh, Carr, she's not gone'd?</i>'</p> + +<p>The pathetic cry, the startled look went straight to the girl's heart.</p> + +<p>'Ted, she is coming back again!' she cried, clasping him to her breast, +'and you must try ever so hard to grow good, wise, and clever, that she +may be really proud of her boy!'</p> + +<p>Toddie sat down on the floor and began to weep, refusing utterly to be +comforted until she had had her cry out, when she displayed healthy +curiosity regarding her new doll's cradle, her mother's parting gift.</p> + +<p>Ted had by far the more affectionate disposition, and grieved trebly as +much as his sister, as Catherine had expected. He tried to hide his +unhappiness, even from her, until night, when she found him sobbing +pitifully in the dark, and had to spend a long while in endeavouring to +soothe him.</p> + +<p>At last he cried himself to sleep in her arms.</p> + +<p>It was many days before the little fellow ceased to fret, and at one +time Catherine began to fear for his health; but she and Agatha managed +him so adroitly that he was surprised into laughing over a new game one +evening, and after that laugh his spirits gradually returned to him.</p> + +<p>'His mother will cry over the letter I have sent her, describing Ted's +way of bearing his first big sorrow,' said<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> Catherine to Agatha; 'but +they will be tears that will do her heart good.'</p> + +<p>Toddie was quite placid again by this time, and was becoming the idol of +all but Agatha and Catherine, who could not help loving Ted best, though +they tried to show no preference.</p> + +<p>'Uncle Jack' was the tiny girl's favourite friend, and he spent most of +his leisure in her company, which never failed to cheer him.</p> + +<p>How greatly he was in need of cheering, Catherine now began to discover. +She loved him so well that her power of character-reading was greatly +aided in his case. When Agatha thought him merely tired, Catherine knew +that he was dejected; when he was laughing aloud over his games with the +children, Catherine saw the weary look in his eyes, detected a wistful +cadence in his voice, and knew that he was thinking of the quarrel which +was as a dark shadow over these years of his old age.</p> + +<p>Morning and night, at family prayers, a petition was offered up for the +reconciling of all family feuds, the forgiveness of injuries between +friends, the health and happiness of relatives. And one day some time +after Christmas the colonel turned to those around him, saying simply:—</p> + +<p>'This is the anniversary of the day when I and my brother Ross +quarrelled, when he told me we could live together no longer. Will you +all pray silently for his welfare, here and hereafter, and for our +reconciliation, if God in His mercy wills it? I know I have always +prayed aloud for this before, in other years; but to-day—my courage +fails me.'</p> + +<p>'Catherine, if I should die suddenly,' he said when next alone with his +niece, 'I trust to you to tell Ross I have never borne him any ill-will, +and that I hope to meet him in the kingdom where all the secrets of +men's hearts will be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> made plain, and where the God of love reigns for +ever and ever.'</p> + +<p>'I promise to bear your wish in mind, dearest uncle,' was her answer.</p> + +<p>And she resolved that not another day should pass before she made one +more attempt to soften her other uncle's heart and overrule his pride.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII</h2> + +<h3>The Fate of a Letter</h3> + + +<p>Next morning dawned fair. Catherine was astir early, as was her custom; +but, instead of writing letters, devoted all her time to meditating upon +her resolution to plead with Uncle Ross. These meditations were +interspersed with earnest prayers, and with a study of those parts of +the Bible which she thought would best help her in her task.</p> + +<p>'I must go to work very humbly,' she told herself, 'or else I may make +some serious mistake, and maybe increase instead of lessening Uncle +Jack's trouble. If I remember all the time that no action of mine can be +the least use unless God helps me, then I am not likely to do harm.'</p> + +<p>Her desire to make another effort on Uncle Jack's behalf was just as +strong by morning light as it had been the preceding evening, but the +difficulties in the way of success looked more colossal. What could she +say, that would not be mere repetition of all she had already said? +Nothing, except that now she could plead for the reconciliation to take +place because the colonel's life was in danger. And if Uncle Ross did +not care sufficiently for his brother to be touched by this news, +influenced by the dread lest the quarrel should continue until death, +there was no strong argument upon which the pleader could fall back as a +last resource.</p> + +<p>But surely, surely Uncle Ross <i>would</i> care! The lonely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> old man, +surrounded by riches and comforts, <i>must</i> be longing all the while for +the brotherly love he had cast away, and repeatedly refused to welcome +back again!</p> + +<p>Catherine's warm heart glowed with affection for all who were good to +her, but more especially for those to whom she felt drawn by the tie of +sympathy; and she could not believe that a brother could possibly +continue to refuse to clasp a brother's hand, nor that any one could +long withstand the gentle fascination of Uncle Jack's sincerity.</p> + +<p>The more she prayed and meditated, the more hopeful did she become. +She even found herself smiling over the contemplation of a +dream-picture—the possible result of the efforts she was planning—of +the brothers meeting once again as friends, not foes, and trying to +outdo one another in their expressions of sorrow for the years of +misunderstanding.</p> + +<p>'Uncle Ross is generous at heart, I feel sure he is!' she thought. 'It +is only, as Uncle Jack told me, that he has allowed his business career +to spoil his outward character—he has grown too fond of money—hard, +calculating, and cynical. But, in spite of his wealth, he is unhappy and +lonely—he has come to regard his life as a failure. He will welcome the +friendship and unmercenary devotion of the brother who has never ceased +to sorrow for the loss of his regard!'</p> + +<p>Before going downstairs to breakfast Catherine woke and dressed the +children and listened to their prayers.</p> + +<p>They clung round her and begged for a 'talk,' and this too she gave +them—a quaint little morning homily—dealing with the probable events +of the day, containing a promise to have a real, long game of play with +them in the evening, to make up for leaving them with Agatha until +dinner-time.</p> + +<p>'You will be dear, good little people, will you not, so that I may go to +see Uncle Ross quite happily, without worrying about having left you at +home?'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span></p> + +<p>Ted laughed wickedly, but was instantly rebuked by Toddie.</p> + +<p>'Naughty boy not to pwomise at once! <i>I'll</i> be good, Carr dear, but I +can't keep Ted fwom bein' bad.'</p> + +<p>'Ted will not break his word to me, I am certain of that,' said +Catherine, gravely regarding the mischievous-looking urchin.</p> + +<p>'That's why didn't want to pwomise,' explained the rebel. 'Feels naughty +this mornin'.'</p> + +<p>'Come and kiss me.'</p> + +<p>This invitation could not be resisted. In a second he had scrambled on +to her knee, was clasping both his fat little arms round her neck, and +showering kisses upon her cheeks and brow.</p> + +<p>'Oh, Ted, you do not wish to vex our good God, and to worry your own +Carr, do you?'</p> + +<p>'<i>Ni-ever!</i>' cried Ted with emphasis. 'Only wanted to play pwanks, go +an' tease Hawwiet in the kitchen, an' make Ag'tha let me do everything I +like best!'</p> + +<p>'You will do none of those things,' announced Catherine firmly.</p> + +<p>Ted, scarcely believing she could be angry, yet awed by the decided +tone, gazed up at her, asking,—</p> + +<p>'<i>Why</i> won't I?'</p> + +<p>'Because you love me, Ted. I cannot have that which <i>I</i> like best, if +you are determined to try to please yourself this morning. I shall have +to stay at home to take charge of you, if you mean to be naughty.'</p> + +<p>'An' you <i>weally</i> want to go to see that howwid old man?'</p> + +<p>'Oh, Ted,' put in Toddie the virtuous, 'you <i>are</i> a wicked, bad boy +to-day! I wonder Carr has any patience wiv 'oo.'</p> + +<p>'I shall be <i>very much</i> disappointed if I cannot go to Carm Hall.'</p> + +<p>Ted meditated for a minute, then he laughed delightedly,—</p> + +<p>'Then I'll save all the pwanks up!' he announced. 'I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> promise dweffully +solemnly that I'll be won'erful good all the times you'se away, Carr +lovey!'</p> + +<p>When Catherine, having completed her conquest over Ted's mischievous +longings, ran downstairs to breakfast, she found a letter awaiting her. +It proved to be from her Melbourne cousin George, to whom she had +written so long ago asking him for news of the last hours of poor Loring +Carmichael.</p> + +<p>Robert was shovelling away at the fire, and Harriet was laying the meal, +so after a few words to them Catherine slipped away into the garden to +read the long letter in peace.</p> + +<p>She was not in the least cold, though the January air was fresh, as she +paced round and round the narrow gravel walk which surrounded the small +lawn.</p> + +<p>Her cheeks were glowing with a healthy colour, and her brown hair, +having just been rumpled by that naughty Ted, was blown in bewitching +locks and curls about her brow.</p> + +<p>There was a happy smile of pleased expectation on her lips as she began +to read, but it faded away and was replaced by a look of anxiety and +grief long before she had finished the letter.</p> + +<p>After a few unimportant sentences George Carmichael wrote:—</p> + +<p>'I know that I ought to have answered your letter long ago, and I should +have done so, had I been certain how much I was justified in telling you +about poor Loring. You say you are in a position to make use of any +information I can send you, but my knowledge seems to me to be of a kind +which, if shared with our uncles, would only increase their quarrel, not +lessen it. Loring dictated two letters before he died, which I wrote and +despatched as he desired—the one to Uncle Ross, the other to Uncle +Jack. They were addressed to Carm Hall. As he was able to write through +me, he did not give any verbal messages when he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> was dying. Have you +never heard of these letters? It is not possible, is it, that Uncle Jack +never received his? There! that question is as bad as a lie, so please +consider it scratched out. I know, by something you said in your last +letter to me, that Uncle J. can't have received it. These are the facts +of the case. Loring was offered his choice between giving up his +intention to be a soldier, or accepting an income of £2000 a year, with +the prospect of inheriting almost all Uncle Ross's fortune. This sounds +straight enough, but it was not straight, for he was bound over not to +tell Uncle Jack of the bribe offered. Uncle J. thought he was choosing +simply between the army and an office stool. Uncle Ross offered him +money down, and a life of idleness, spent where he pleased; in fact, +there was nothing he would not have offered in order to buy out his +brother's influence. When Loring lay dying he considered himself freed +from that promise of secrecy which he had made for his lifetime, and he +wrote to Uncle Jack telling him how Ross had acted. He also explained +that he had left home without any farewells, in order to leave them free +to forget him, the cause of their quarrel, and because he was indignant +at the secrecy, which seemed dishonourable, of the offer made him. +"You," he wrote, "would have scorned to privately bribe me, had you +possessed my other uncle's wealth. I chose to follow my own wish in the +matter of choosing a profession, since I felt that, by attempting to +bribe me, Uncle Ross had absolved me from all obligation due to his +former care of me. Until he made that offer, which few young men would +have refused, I was trying to subdue my longing for a soldier's life, +that I might repay him for making me his heir. You never tried to +influence me; you only told me true stories of a soldier's life. <i>It was +entirely owing to Uncle Ross's secret persuasion that I left home to +enlist.</i>" There, my dear Catherine, as nearly as I can remember, those +were the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> words poor Loring wrote to Uncle Jack by my hand in that +letter which it is clear enough Uncle Jack has not received. My own +opinion is, that it reached Carm Hall after the colonel's departure, and +that Uncle Ross (knowing some of its contents through Loring's letter to +him) purposely refrained from forwarding it. If my suspicion is correct, +the news I send you will surely increase the family quarrel rather than +lessen it; but I place it in your hands to be used or not used, as you +judge best. My opinion is that a reconciliation will never take place, +if it cannot come to pass without a confession by the squire. It is more +often the person who has done the injury, not the person injured, who +refuses to forgive. If you ever wish for it, Catherine, I can send you a +copy of Loring's letter to the colonel, for I have at home the rough +notes for it—the words that his failing breath dictated to me.'</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/illus2.jpg" alt=""/> +</div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p>'Catherine, dear!'</p> + +<p>Uncle Jack had come to the open window of the dining-room, and was +calling her in from the garden.</p> + +<p>'Coming!'</p> + +<p>There was no time to think over the letter she had been reading, and she +must laugh and talk over the breakfast just as though no news had come +to startle her.</p> + +<p>Catherine made a brave effort to appear unconcerned, and, luckily, +Agatha was in a cheerful, unobservant mood; and the colonel, though he +noticed that his niece's merriment was rather strained, guessed that she +was tired, or maybe disappointed at having received no communication +from Brian. When prayers had been said, and Agatha carried back to the +couch in her own little sitting-room and given charge over Ted and +Toddie, who promised to be 'beautifully good all mornin',' Catherine was +free to put one or two careful questions to her uncle. She went to him +where he was sitting before his writing-table, and clasping his arm, +knelt by his side, gazing affectionately into his face.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span></p> + +<p>'Dear, I—have been thinking a great deal about poor Loring this +morning.'</p> + +<p>'Ah! my dear boy! He was the best of lads; so honourable and +high-spirited!'</p> + +<p>'Did he send you a message—or a letter—before he died, dear?'</p> + +<p>'No, not a word. But you must not blame him for that, lassie. He may +have had no time, have remained unconscious until the end; or I +sometimes think he may have learned to regret his adoption of the +profession, since for a gentleman a "private's" life is a hard one, and +he may have felt anger against me for having caused him to become a +soldier.'</p> + +<p>'But you did not directly counsel him to enter the army, did you, +uncle?'</p> + +<p>'No, no; I never counselled him to refuse to obey the wishes of the +uncle to whom he owed all. I only pleaded with Ross for him, and no +doubt I talked to him a great deal about the service—I could not help +that; and he used to question me so eagerly. Yet I have no doubt that I +was to blame, as Ross says I was, for the lad's rebellion and decision.'</p> + +<p>Catherine rose, and kissed the old man's forehead before leaving him.</p> + +<p>'I do not believe that Loring ever regretted his decision or ceased to +be grateful to you, dear uncle,' she said softly.</p> + +<p>She thought over George's letter while she walked the four miles to Carm +Hall; but her resolution had sprung into being directly she had heard +the colonel's self-blaming answer to her questions. She was indignant +now on his behalf. Had the squire indeed kept back the dying lad's +letter to his best friend, the relative whom he had loved more than any +other living creature? If so, then the time had come for her to make a +bold attempt to force a reconciliation, unless she could persuade Uncle +Ross to yield for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> reason's, for honour's, and for pity's sake. And +Uncle Jack had said, 'I would gladly give the rest of my life, if +possible, in exchange for the reinstating of the old regard we, Ross and +I, had for one another. I want him just as badly as ever, lassie!'</p> + +<p>Oh, supposing the wrong were proved to have been done—and of this +Catherine could not have much doubt—if Uncle Ross would but ask for +pardon, how gladly, generously, would not Uncle Jack give it!</p> + +<p>'O my God, help me!' prayed the girl, as she hurried along the country +road. 'Without Thy aid I can do nothing. Help me not to judge others +harshly, to remember that I <i>can't judge</i> of the strength of those +temptations to which others have yielded. Let me forget myself and my +own poor opinions; let me not speak angrily or foolishly; and if Thy +will does not forbid it, let me see my uncles true brothers again—Uncle +Ross forgiven by the man he has injured, as a prelude to being pardoned +by Thee!'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV</h2> + +<h3>Catherine's Appeal</h3> + + +<p>When Catherine Carmichael reached Carm Hall she found that a groom was +leading the squire's horse up and down the carriage drive. Her uncle +appeared at the hall door, booted for riding, just as she arrived at it; +but he smilingly welcomed her, and gave orders that the spirited bay +should be taken back to the stable.</p> + +<p>'I do not receive visits from you so often that I can afford to cut them +short, my dear,' he replied to her promise that she would not detain him +long.</p> + +<p>'Don't take me into the drawing-room,' she petitioned. 'I have a great +deal to say to you, uncle, and the library is so much more cosy. If you +treat me as a stranger, my courage will fail me, and I shall not be able +to find words in which to explain my reason for coming to-day.'</p> + +<p>He smiled.</p> + +<p>'Your wish is, of course, a command to me. I trust that nothing is +troubling you? Mr. North is not ill?'</p> + +<p>'No; the trouble does not concern Brian.'</p> + +<p>He wheeled the largest arm-chair near to the fire for her, and stood +beside her, looking down into her face.</p> + +<p>His figure was upright, his eyes keen, but the lines in his brow were +deeply cut, and his beard and hair were quite white. A fine old man, a +typical squire, with an autocrat's expression.</p> + +<p>Even while admiring her uncle, Catherine was remembering<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> the secret +wrong he had done—the dishonouring small sins of which he had been +guilty. His proud air and haughty manner hid remorse and +self-condemnation; surely this must be so!</p> + +<p>'Your friend, Mrs. Arderne, is not ill either? The children cannot be +unwell, or you would not have left them.'</p> + +<p>'The troubles all concern Uncle Jack and—and you.'</p> + +<p>There was a great fear in her heart, and her voice trembled. Oh, if this +dread, this mastering weakness of will, were to continue, there would be +no chance of influencing this stern, self-possessed man by her words! In +that moment Catherine both despised and detested herself.</p> + +<p>But she had sought powerful aid; she had put her case into the hands of +her Heavenly Father, beseeching Him to plead her cause for her through +her own lips; and the remembrance of His mercy and goodness came back to +her mind just as she needed it most. With God's help, wonders and +miracles might be accomplished!</p> + +<p>At the mention of Uncle Jack the squire's frown had appeared. It was a +visible effort to him to show the unvarying courtesy he deemed due to a +woman when Catherine would speak of his enemy.</p> + +<p>'Forgive me if I say that you had better have chosen a different +confidant, if you wish to discuss affairs concerning my brother.'</p> + +<p>'No other confidant would do, and I knew you would not refuse to listen +to me.'</p> + +<p>'I am powerless to refuse a lady's request, when it is in my power to +grant it, when the lady is my niece, to whom I am attached, and when she +proffers the request under my own roof. I can only request her to desist +from making it.'</p> + +<p>'Uncle, I have such strong motives that I cannot yield my will to yours +this time!'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span></p> + +<p>He smiled cynically.</p> + +<p>'My dear Catherine, you have not exhibited any willingness ever to +consider my desires rather than your own!'</p> + +<p>A hot retort was just springing from her lips, but she restrained the +wrong impulse.</p> + +<p>'I am sorry, truly sorry, that I have not been able to please you. Had I +been in your favour, my task to-day would have been so much easier. +Uncle, let me stand beside you; I can talk better when I stand, and I am +tall enough to look right into your eyes! Don't be angry with me, dear! +You were never vexed with "little Catherine" in the old days. Do you +recollect one great argument we had about the necessity for men, as well +as women, to lead religious lives? I was only a child; it was not easy +for me to bear my part in that argument. I lost my temper, and behaved +very impertinently to you, I'm afraid, yet you were not angry—certainly +not the least bit sarcastic! When I apologised afterwards, you told me +you "liked my spirited defence of that which I believed right!"'</p> + +<p>The squire's expression softened, and he laid his hand on that small but +firm one which had stolen through his arm.</p> + +<p>'Are you preparing to lose your temper again, Catherine?'</p> + +<p>'No, I will try not to do so; I don't think I shall want to. Uncle Ross, +you have not the least idea how unhappy this family quarrel is making +your brother. He longs for your friendship, for the old affection +between you. He told me, only a little while ago, that he would gladly +give the remainder of his life in exchange for the reconciliation; only +God does not let His creatures bargain with Him in that way. I have come +here to-day to plead for Uncle Jack, not to begin by defending him. I +appeal to your sense of generosity first, to your memory of the love +that united you brothers in your childhood, youth, and young manhood.'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p> + +<p>'There is an insuperable obstacle against the proposed reconciliation.'</p> + +<p>Catherine watched his face as he spoke this quiet sentence. Yes, there +was the obstacle of his false pride. He would not confess himself in the +wrong; he could not endure the thought of humbling himself. The harsh +tone of voice, the fixed tension of the brows, the weary, cynical +smile—all these betokened the squire's sacrifice to his idol, Self.</p> + +<p>That he still cared for his brother Catherine felt certain. A warm +regard, the growth of years and years of intimacy, does not melt away in +a short time, nor can it be entirely obliterated by any quarrel. The +seeds of affection were springing ever fresh in a heart which would not +let love blossom and bear fruit.</p> + +<p>There was sadness in the words 'an insuperable obstacle.'</p> + +<p>'You wish that obstacle did not exist?'</p> + +<p>For a few minutes Ross Carmichael hesitated. He was reading his own +mind. Did he not regret that unworthy attempt to secretly bribe Loring +to reject Uncle Jack's influence? Did he not repent of the impulsive +hiding away of that last letter of Loring's—the deception of an instant +which had obliged him to practise deceit ever since?</p> + +<p>'Yes, Catherine, I regret the obstacle.'</p> + +<p>'And is it not in your power to overcome it?'</p> + +<p>Yes, it was, in two ways. Either the squire could confess the injury he +had done his brother, or he might make overtures of friendship without +ever owning the secret wrong. The first method was too distasteful to +his false pride; the second was impossible to a man whose honour had +been twice denied, but had never succumbed beneath the treatment.</p> + +<p>Call Jack brother, welcome him home, press his hand,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> live in his +company day after day, and all the while deceive him? No; the squire's +nature rebelled fiercely against this idea.</p> + +<p>'You will find me a—tolerably patient listener, my dear; but I refuse +to be "heckled,"' was his answer.</p> + +<p>'Forgive me, uncle! I am so much in earnest that maybe I am imprudent! +You know that I care very truly for you; that I care also for Uncle +Jack; and while I <i>know</i> that he grieves for your friendship, I believe +you miss his presence here more than you will own. God gave you to one +another; let your warm affection be a joy to you; and now that you are +estranged you both are sorry for the loss of one another. Uncle Jack +tells me, "I long for Ross more than ever, now that I am growing old."'</p> + +<p>'Catherine, Catherine, for Heaven's sake desist from these appeals and +arguments, which have no respect for my feelings, but which are totally +useless!'</p> + +<p>'It is those feelings to which I wish to appeal. They have slept too +long; it is well for them to be roused!' cried the girl, clasping his +arm with both her hands. 'You will feel remorse and sorrow all the years +of your life, if Uncle Jack dies before you have made all the amends in +your power!'</p> + +<p>'<i>Dies!</i>'</p> + +<p>The squire's face had become ashen; his repetition of the word Catherine +had used betrayed the shock it had caused him.</p> + +<p>'<i>Dies!</i>' he repeated. 'John is my junior. The chance is that I die +before him.'</p> + +<p>'No, uncle; for his life is threatened; it might end any minute, so the +doctors tell him.'</p> + +<p>There was silence in the library for a while, only the fire flickered +and spluttered fiercely, and the heavy drops of a rain-storm dashed +against the windows.</p> + +<p>The squire stood erect, gazing straight before him, with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> not a change +of one muscle of his face. Yet no one, least of all Catherine, could +have seen that face without learning that a struggle and a grief were +tearing his heart. While he was silent he was looking into the far past, +to the childish days when Jack had been all-in-all to him, when his +affection for him had been of the loyal protecting order of the elder +for the younger; looking back to the youth of mutual aspirations after +higher things than worldly ambition, to the confidences of young +manhood, to the devotion for one woman, which had never separated them, +because for each it had been equally hopeless. How Jack had proposed, +after that sorrow, 'Let us keep together through life, you and I, Ross. +We shall always understand and respect one another's memories'! How the +promise had been kept, even when absence made letter-writing the only +method of communication! How nothing but the elder's change of +disposition had weakened the old tie! Money, money, money,—this had +become Ross's idol; in serving it he had lost touch with the finer +nature of his soldier brother, whose loyal, pure heart had remained +faithful. Then the episode of Loring Carmichael's adoption; their mutual +pride in the prospects of the clever lad who was to carry the old name +honourably into another generation, and keep the home and estate in +order. Then Loring's favouritism for Uncle Jack; the squire's growing +jealousy, and attempt to purchase his allegiance secretly. Later, +Loring's choice, Loring's departure; lastly, Loring's death, and the +concealed letter!</p> + +<p>No, not lastly, for years of estrangement had followed, beginning with a +mere quarrel which could easily have been made up, but which had been +sealed, as it were, by the squire's act of deception, that dishonouring +wrong to which he would not own.</p> + +<p>He saw himself in his true colours now, and was bitterly shamed by the +vision.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span></p> + +<p>But to be ashamed, and to own to the shame, were two different things. +He contrived to hide his emotion.</p> + +<p>'I am exceedingly sorry to hear of my brother's ill-health, Catherine. +Still, that does not efface the wrong he did me.'</p> + +<p>'What if I can prove to you that Loring was not influenced in his final +choice by Uncle Jack?'</p> + +<p>'I fail to understand how that could be. You never met—my nephew.'</p> + +<p>'No, uncle, but you have another nephew, who was his friend, who was +with him before his death, who wrote for him two letters of +farewell—one to you, one to Uncle Jack—my Cousin George in Melbourne.'</p> + +<p>The squire's expression changed again. He glanced anxiously into +Catherine's face. How much did she know? Was his wrong-doing to be +exposed, brought home to him by this penniless niece, who had refused to +sacrifice her sense of duty for the gain of a fortune?—this girl, whose +spirit he had admired in times past?</p> + +<p>It was too strange that she should humble him! Could he not think of any +way in which to make sure of her silence?</p> + +<p>No; for she was absolutely unselfish and honest.</p> + +<p>There was admiration for her in his mind, even while she was so calmly +defying him. Her truthful brown eyes did not falter beneath his glance; +her temper was not aroused. She was simply in earnest—doing battle for +Uncle Jack.</p> + +<p>He could not think how to answer her, until she spoke again, quietly:</p> + +<p>'I know <i>all</i> about the quarrel, Uncle Ross. George has written to me. +The only thing I do not know is what became of Loring's letter to Uncle +Jack, for it was not delivered to him.'</p> + +<p>If Catherine had expected to break down the reserve of his manner, she +was disappointed. Ross Carmichael was bent upon enduring his position as +well as possible.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span></p> + +<p>'The letter came here after my brother's departure, and I omitted to +forward it. Had he sent for it at any time, he could have had it. It +lies in the locked drawer of a bureau in the hall.'</p> + +<p>'Will you let me take it to him?'</p> + +<p>'Certainly.'</p> + +<p>'Oh, uncle, George told me one sentence that is in it. Loring declared, +"It is entirely owing to Uncle Ross's secret persuasion that I left home +to enlist." Now that you know that Uncle Jack did not do you the injury +of influencing Loring to leave you, won't you forgive and be friends +with him again?'</p> + +<p>Catherine's voice was no longer calm. Her appeal was made in impassioned +tones, and her eyes were full of tears.</p> + +<p>The squire unclasped her hands from his arm and turned away.</p> + +<p>'If I am not mistaken, the—the position is changed between my brother +and myself. John will probably be indignant because I—did not trouble +to—to forward the letter. There was no absolute necessity for me to do +so; it was his affair that he left me and went to live by himself.'</p> + +<p>'Since you have wronged him, do you not wish to make amends to him?'</p> + +<p>'That will be done—at least, the wrong will be ended when you have +taken him the letter.'</p> + +<p>'No, uncle, for he cares far more for you than he ever cared for Loring. +He longs for your love again—your confidence. Will you not make some +advance to him, as he has made so many which you have ignored? Think—it +is in your power to make these later years of his life happy instead of +sad! Can you be so hard-hearted as not to do it?'</p> + +<p>The squire walked away to the window, where he stood, turning his back +upon his niece,—silently fighting with his feelings.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span></p> + +<p>Catherine watched him, and prayed.</p> + +<p>At last the answer came, in a voice unlike the squire's usual harsh +accents.</p> + +<p>'You shall take the letter, and you may tell John I—am sorry. I shall +be in Beverbridge this evening, at the club quite near you. You can send +for me if—if John wants me.'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV</h2> + +<h3>As God Willed</h3> + + +<p>'Let me be driven down, and let your carriage wait to bring Uncle Jack +back to you as soon as he has read Loring's letter. Don't you know him +better than to think that he will be content to wait to answer you until +this evening?' pleaded the girl, with an odd little choke in her voice.</p> + +<p>Her mission was almost accomplished, for there was not the least doubt +as to the nature of the reply one brother would make to the other. And +at that instant the unexpected happened.</p> + +<p>The library door opened, and the colonel himself stood on the threshold. +His gaze went past Catherine, to the tall, straight figure at the +window.</p> + +<p>'<i>Ross!</i>'</p> + +<p>'<i>John!</i>'</p> + +<p>The squire had turned; the two men stood looking at one another. The +younger advanced with his right hand outstretched:</p> + +<p>'Forgive me for coming, especially for forcing myself on you +unannounced. My excuse was a telegram for Catherine. James let me in. +Don't be angry with a faithful servant on my account. Ross, I've tried +before to make up the quarrel between us, but I have not tried <i>hard</i> +enough. To-day I've been reproaching myself.'</p> + +<p>'God knows you have no cause, Jack!'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span></p> + +<p>The two right hands were clasped now.</p> + +<p>'I've been thinking a great deal about Loring, poor, dear fellow, and I +seem to have realised what a blow losing him was to you, Ross. You +wanted some one to be proud of, and he was worthy; and I, garrulous old +man that I was, persuaded him to long to be a soldier. It was a great +injury to you.'</p> + +<p>'Hush, John, you mustn't say so. I——'</p> + +<p>'I have come to speak my mind out. Let me do it. Have patience with me +just for a few moments. You refused my overtures towards reconciliation +a few times, Ross, and my pride kept me from offering any more. That was +where I was wrong—most wrong. I called myself a Christian, but my +conduct was utterly un-Christlike. <i>Pride?</i> What is that between +brothers? We loved one another once, and it shall be no fault of mine if +our hearts are divided. And to-day I have been remembering the +exhortation, "Let brotherly love continue." Ross, if it is to end, it +shall not be by my fault. So I have come to ask your pardon for all the +ill I have ever done you, purposely or unconsciously.'</p> + +<p>'No, no, John. All the wrong has been mine. You will not want to ask my +pardon when you know all. I have deceived you, and——'</p> + +<p>Catherine heard no more, for she stole out of the room, leaving the +brothers together.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>'And to-morrow we go home!'</p> + +<p>Agatha was the speaker. It was the evening of the same day, and she was +nestling in Catherine's arms. From the other little room across the hall +came the sound of voices. Uncle Jack and Uncle Ross were together there, +talking over the many memories they shared, making plans for their +future, agreeing to forget the past.</p> + +<p>'Yes,' agreed the elder girl, in the happiest of tones.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> 'You and I, Ted +and Toddie, even Harriet and Robert—we are all to leave the cottage for +the Hall. My dear little woman, your wish has come true. I am so very +glad.'</p> + +<p>'It is all your doing, Catherine. Oh, it is a lovely ending to the +family quarrel! I never saw guardian look as radiant as he does now. You +do believe I'm most pleased about that, don't you? I used to covet +comforts and money most dreadfully, but you've taught me to understand +how little joy they can give.'</p> + +<p>'You've grown a great deal wiser lately, dearie; but that is because you +have learned to love God.'</p> + +<p>'And I never should have known much about Him and His wonderful love for +us all, if you hadn't come to teach me, Catherine. Don't you feel proud +of all the good you've done? You've made me less horrid (I <i>was</i> a +little wretch before you came). You've helped guardian to find peace in +religion; you've reconciled him and Uncle Ross; you've taken care of Ted +and Toddie, so that Mrs. Arderne can't be anxious about them. <i>When</i> did +she say she was coming home?'</p> + +<p>'The telegram said, "Henry has been offered a good post. We come home in +a month's time."'</p> + +<p>'But you will live with us until you are married, won't you? You do not +mean to go back to be Mrs. Arderne's companion?'</p> + +<p>The squire and the colonel entered the room, arm-in-arm, and heard +Agatha's eager question.</p> + +<p>'My dear, Catherine has promised not to desert us,' said Uncle Ross with +a smile—'not until she marries. But as I mean Brian North to become +editor of <i>The Circle</i> as soon as possible, her stay with us may not +last as long as we could wish for our own sakes.'</p> + +<p>'Oh, uncle, you <i>are</i> good to me!'</p> + +<p>The squire turned to his brother.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span></p> + +<p>'Niece Catherine scarcely seems to know the value of the work she has +done for me, John. I am under an obligation to her which I can never +repay. Money is not of the immense value I believed it to be, my dear; +but I am thankful it can help you and Brian to be happy.'</p> + +<p>Catherine tried to express her feelings in words, but the task was a +difficult one. Her eyes were full of tears of joy as she looked from one +uncle to the other, as they stood side by side, smiling at one another.</p> + +<p>'God be blessed and praised for the mercy He has shown us, and the +manner in which He has taken away our trials!' said Uncle Jack. 'The +troubles are over for us all; it is well for us to remember the words, +"Let us love one another, for love is of God." Lassie, this is the +happiest day of my life!'</p> + +<p>'Even happier than the day when you first wore the Queen's uniform, +guardian?' asked Agatha.</p> + +<p>'Yes, dear,' answered the colonel. 'I was a young, untried fellow then. +It is when an old man, who has known sorrow, obtains his heart's desire, +that happiness is greatest. The light is dearer to those who have lived +in darkness.'</p> + +<p>'John, it was all my fault.'</p> + +<p>'No, no, Ross; we were both to blame.'</p> + +<p>Niece Catherine came forward and stood between them, radiantly smiling.</p> + +<p>'The past may be forgotten now, may it not, my dear uncles?' she asked. +'Since the family quarrel is dead, let it be buried.'</p> + +<p>'It is well for a man to remember his faults,' said Colonel Carmichael +firmly. 'I was un-Christian. I consider that my pride was——'</p> + +<p>'Nonsense, John!' interrupted the squire. 'As I have told you again and +again, the wrong was entirely my doing. The part of the quarrel <i>I</i> +don't wish to forget is the fact<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> that, after all, you came to +me,—though God knows I didn't deserve you should do it.'</p> + +<p>Niece Catherine listened to this friendly altercation, and knew that the +brothers would continue to loyally endeavour each to bear the greater +load of blame, and saw by their faces that their hearts were filled with +emotion which, being men, they felt obliged to master, the old quarrel +being mutually, forgiven, the old regard being not only renewed, but +increased. Her 'mission,' as Mrs. Arderne had named it, was indeed +accomplished; but she was certain that Uncle Jack had earned all praise +for the happy consummation.</p> + +<p>But Agatha, silent upon her couch, was remembering some verses of a poem +she had read that morning, and applying them to Catherine, her +heroine:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">'Who toil aright, for those<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Life's pathway, ere it close,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Is as the rose.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">The spires of wisdom stand,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Piled by the unconscious hand,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From grains of sand.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">And pleasure comes unsought,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To those who take but thought<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For that they ought.'<br /></span> +</div></div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Niece Catherine, by Mary Hampden + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NIECE CATHERINE *** + +***** This file should be named 36880-h.htm or 36880-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/6/8/8/36880/ + +Produced by Delphine Lettaum, Mary Meehan and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Niece Catherine + +Author: Mary Hampden + +Release Date: July 28, 2011 [EBook #36880] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NIECE CATHERINE *** + + + + +Produced by Delphine Lettaum, Mary Meehan and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + + NIECE CATHERINE + + By MARY HAMPDEN + +AUTHOR OF 'ALISON'S AMBITION' 'THE GIRL WITH A TALENT' 'STRANGER +MARGARET' ETC. + + + LONDON + THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY + 56 PATERNOSTER ROW AND + 65 ST PAUL'S CHURCHYARD + + BUTLER & TANNER, + THE SELWOOD PRINTING WORKS + FROME, AND LONDON. + + + + +[Illustration] + + + + +Contents + + +CHAPTER I. THE HEROINE + +CHAPTER II. UNCLE ROSS + +CHAPTER III. UNCLE JACK + +CHAPTER IV. CATHERINE'S RESOLUTION + +CHAPTER V. AN UNSHAKEN RESOLUTION + +CHAPTER VI. A SUNDAY'S EXPERIENCES + +CHAPTER VII. A RAY OF LIGHT + +CHAPTER VIII. THE COMING OF CATHERINE'S BETROTHED + +CHAPTER IX. AN IMPORTANT OFFER + +CHAPTER X. THE UNEXPECTED HAPPENS + +CHAPTER XI. CONFIDENCES AND AN ATTEMPT + +CHAPTER XII. GOOD-BYE + +CHAPTER XIII. THE FATE OF A LETTER + +CHAPTER XIV. CATHERINE'S APPEAL + +CHAPTER XV. AS GOD WILLED + + + + +CHAPTER I + +The Heroine + + +'Catherine!--_Catherine!_' + +Mrs. Arderne stood at the foot of the staircase, looking upward, and +calling her companion. Though her voice sounded impatient there was an +amused smile on her face, because she could hear merry laughter from the +night-nursery, where 'Catherine' was helping nurse to put Ted and Toddie +into bed. + +The last call produced the effect desired. A tall slim young woman came +running downstairs, explaining and apologising. + +'Oh, I am really very sorry! Have you been trying to make me hear? I +didn't know that you were calling, not until a minute ago; and then Ted +was on my lap, and made himself _so_ heavy when I tried to lift him back +into his cot!' + +'You spoil my children.' + +The mother was still smiling. Catherine laughed aloud, and very +musically, the laugh of a girl to whom people had always been kind. + +'If you seriously meant that accusation, Mrs. Arderne, I should have to +try to prove my innocence; but as I am sure you didn't, I will only tell +you what a darling Ted has been to-night. He said his hymn right +through, and afterwards composed a dear little prayer for "mother's +wicked headache to be taken right away." Now could I refuse to tell him +about _Jack and the Beanstalk_ after that?' + +Catherine was trying to smooth back her brown hair with her hands as she +spoke, for several curly locks were fluttering round her equally brown +eyes, Toddie having 'rumpled dear Carr's head all up,' as the little +girl herself would have expressed it. + +'Kiss the tiny fellow "good-night" for me, dear,' said Mrs. Arderne, +leading the way into the villa drawing-room. 'I called you down that you +might fasten this flower in my dress, your fingers are so deft.' + +After having performed the task Catherine stood back a few paces to +survey the effect. + +'You look delightful,' she remarked. 'But I'm not certain that it's a +"companion's" place to tell you so!' + +'The remark might be flattery. "Companions" are supposed to flatter.' + +Catherine made a grimace. This was a bad habit she had, a trick copied +unconsciously from her boy cousins in Melbourne. + +'I won't ever be a first-rate "companion" then. Mrs. Arderne, it was +tremendously good of you to take me, to give me a home, and a salary. +Until I came to England I hadn't the least idea how ignorant, and +peculiar, and--and--and independent a creature I am!' + +'You were just going to use a stronger term of opprobrium!' + +'Yes, dreadful slang. I checked myself for once, just because I am in +real earnest. Oh, I _am_ grateful to you! I want to learn to be of use +to you,--to repay some of your goodness to me; please teach me to be a +satisfactory companion in every way but that of flattery!' + +There were tears sparkling in the brown eyes now, and a sweet pleading +expression on the whole face. Mrs. Arderne, being a woman of the world, +did not show how much she was touched, and answered laughingly,-- + +'Catherine, you are beautiful! Why did you spoil all my best plans for +you by getting engaged to Brian North?' + +A series of dimples played round the girl's lips. She put her hands +behind her back, dropped a curtsey, after the manner of charity children +before a benefactress, and blushed. + +'Please, ma'am, I think it was because--I love him.' + +'Romantic nonsense! My dear, you could as easily have loved another man. +Mr. North is not a paragon of every virtue and charm. He happened to +love you, and so, soft-heartedly, you tried to pay him back for love, +just as you want to pay me back because I offered you a home when you +were in want of one.' + +'You didn't try to patronise me. You came to me, and spoke like the dear +true woman you are, as a sister might have spoken; and you burdened +yourself, or rather let me burden you, with an untrained, wild, +hot-tempered girl, an individual who knew simply nothing of etiquette, +whose manners were all learned in the Bush! That is a gentle description +of me,--you know it is! And I don't believe you needed a companion at +all!' + +'I have learned to appreciate the advantages of possessing one, then. +But seriously, Catherine, have you no expectations at all? Who is this +uncle, who lives in this neighbourhood, to whom you were writing this +afternoon?' + +'Uncle Ross, or Uncle Jack--which do you mean? I wrote to them both. Oh, +Uncle Ross, I suppose, for he is the elder. He is Ross Carmichael, Esq., +of Carm Hall, Beverbridge, and he used to be very nice to me when I was +a child. He and Uncle Jack came out to Australia once, years ago, before +they quarrelled, and I have written to them every Christmas ever +since.... Uncle Jack was quite a darling!' + +'Why did they quarrel?' + +'About an adopted nephew, named Loring Carmichael, whom they both loved. +Uncle Ross wanted to make a business man of him; Uncle Jack wished him +to go into the army. I never heard quite the rights of the matter, for +I never met Loring, though my Melbourne cousins knew him well; in fact, +one of them was in Egypt at the time he was. He became a soldier, but +only a "private," for he enlisted; he left home hoping that his absence +would heal the feud between his uncles.' + +'Whereabouts _is_ Carm Hall?' + +'I asked the stationmaster when we arrived this afternoon, and he said, +"It's four miles straight up the road from Woodley Villa, miss." So I +shall walk up to see my uncles to-morrow morning, with your consent. +Four miles are nothing!' + +'Since they have quarrelled, they maybe living in different places, not +in the old home.' + +'Oh, I hope not. The stationmaster said "Yes," when I asked if they were +both well. He looked as though he wanted to talk a lot about them, but +of course I could not allow him to gossip about my own relatives.' + +'But is the adopted nephew dead? There is the "fly" at the door, and I +must go, but I want to find out first what expectations you have, my +dear. Tell me, in a few words!' + +Catherine's face was quite grave now. + +'Yes, he died in battle, in the third year after he left home. Uncle +Ross means to leave all his fortune to charities, and Uncle Jack never +had any money to speak of, so my "expectations" are _nil_, Mrs. Arderne, +dear. I shall earn my own living until Brian can afford to get married. +If uncle's intentions had not been fully explained to me in one of his +own letters, I should not have expected any part of his fortune, for my +Melbourne cousins are nearer kin to him than I.... Now let me help you +on with your cloak.... Wasn't it wonderful that you should have taken a +furnished house in this very neighbourhood?' + +'I've many friends here, you see. After to-night you must come out with +me, child. A little gaiety will do you good.' + +The expressive face lit up with smiles again, as Catherine cried,-- + +'How kind you are! But please, please, don't worry over me. I believe +you are often quite unhappy for my sake, just because my stepfather +squandered all my money. Dear Mrs. Arderne, _money doesn't matter_, it +really doesn't. If I were delicate, unable to earn my living, I might +merit pity, but not as I am. Why, I've never been ill in my life, and +I'm _so_ happy always, that it's not the least bit of a wonder that I +feel I must thank God every minute for all His goodness to me!' + +Mrs. Arderne gave an impatient shrug, and hastily kissed her companion's +rosy cheeks. + +'Child, you are rather ridiculous sometimes. There, good-night. That +"fly" has been at the door five minutes, and I shall be late for Mrs. +Dumbarton's dance.' + +Catherine ran out into the hall to wave a hand as her employer and +friend was driven away, then went upstairs again to peep at the +children, to whom she was devotedly attached. Six-year-old Ted was +slumbering quite peacefully, his usually mischievous expression having +given place to a seraphic smile. As the girl bent above him he laughed +in his sleep, so she dared not linger by his side, lest he might wake to +clamour for the history of _Jack and the Beanstalk_ all over again. + +Passing into the inner room, she found 'Toddie' (otherwise Nora) +likewise wrapped in slumber, and not in danger of being disturbed by a +kiss. Toddie was a very calm, sensible little person, a model of +deportment and good conduct, compared with that enchanting rebel Ted, +who was but one year her junior. + +Presently Catherine stole away, into the sanctum of her bedroom; and +there, kneeling on the hearth, with her hands stretched out to the +blaze of a glorious fire, she gave herself up to pleasant thoughts, many +of which were connected with the portrait of Brian North, which occupied +the place of honour on the mantelpiece. + +It was a fine photograph. The keen eyes looked straight out at the +observer, with an earnestness of gaze betokening earnestness of purpose. +The features and contour of the face were both delicate and strong; and +the mouth, sensitive as well as resolute, was shadowed, not hidden, by +the dark moustache. + +This young man was an intellectual worker--a journalist by profession, +an author by predilection--and already the dark hair over his brow was +streaked with grey, though he was only thirty. + +From her kneeling posture on the rug Catherine, looking up at the +portrait, mentally apostrophized it. + +'My dear, hard-working old boy! Mrs. Arderne wonders why I accepted the +offer you made me--why I valued it! She thinks I could have loved any +one else just as well! Isn't it wonderful how dense the nicest people +are sometimes? Ah, yes, even _you_, dear!' + +At this point in her meditation Catherine's eyes saddened. + +'You are dense on the greatest subject of all. Do you guess how much I +pray God to _make you see_? If I were not so sure that you, being you, +must grow wise before long, must shake off the contagion of the world's +indifference, your want of faith would be enough to do away with all the +happiness I have been boasting about. But you will soon learn, Brian +dear; you will let my persuasion rouse you. God must love you so well +that He will surely show the beauty of His love to you.' + +Brian North had been brought up by a father who had taught him to feel +scorn for that profession of religion which so many men make without +ruling life by it--the empty show of faith in God without any attempt +to serve Him. No mother had ever shown Brian the truth of +Christianity--since his birth he had been motherless. The clever lad had +always admired his father, and had willingly been led by him. In early +life he had even been proud of doubting that which the majority of men +believe. + +Of late years, indeed, as his intellect had ripened, he had begun to +perceive the folly of unbelief--had come to see that religion, pure and +honest, is for every man the matter of supreme importance, and that +faith, though dishonoured by some hypocrites, remains the chief glory in +a glorious world. But, until Catherine Carmichael had talked to him of +these subjects, he had tried to put them out of his thoughts, to imagine +that he had not been specially 'called' to the leading of that Christian +life which he owned was a noble one. + +His hours were spent in business struggles; his times of leisure were +few, and he always brought to them a brain wearied by money-earning, +and, often, the despondency of baffled ambitions. + +His Heavenly Father had now indeed 'called' to him by the voice of the +woman of his love, and well might she hope for great things from his +faith, when it was once thoroughly aroused. + +To-night nearly all her thoughts were of Brian, of his needs. She could +scarcely spare one reflection for the matter which Mrs. Arderne +considered all-important--the possible reception which rich Uncle Ross +might give her. When she remembered the two old men, it was to feel +pleasantly sure of their affection, not to long for a share in the +fortune of the elder. + +Her heart was full of tenderness to-night, and it was partly because she +was so earnestly sorry for Brian, who did not possess her secret of +happiness, that she let him monopolize her thoughts to such a degree. + +It was not his lack of money of which she was thinking when she prayed, +'O God, make my dear boy rich! He is so poor and needy, while I can +never thank Thee enough for the gifts Thou hast lavished upon me. No one +can be content without Thee, my God.' + +And long before Mrs. Arderne returned from the dance Catherine was +sleeping soundly and peacefully, like Ted with the smile on his lips. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +Uncle Ross + + +Ross Carmichael, Esq., of Carm Hall, Beverbridge, was not a punctual +person at the best of times, but on this particular morning he was the +cause of his servants' despair, for never had he been so late in coming +down to breakfast. The cook had begged the footman to let her have back +the bacon to 'hot up,' but he had replied that he dared not remove the +dish from the table: 'Master might come down any minute now, and it +would never do for him to have to wait while the dish was carried +upstairs again.' + +Now Mr. Carmichael had never been known to lose his temper with a +servant, so their alarmed anxiety would have appeared ridiculous to any +one ignorant of the peculiar awe that old gentleman inspired. He never +scolded harshly, nor raised his voice in remonstrance, but his reproof +would have been sarcasm, and the memory of the fault would have lingered +for days in his mind. His expression was severe generally; only those +persons who had not been so unfortunate as to offend him nearly always +found out that his face did not do his heart justice. + +A man of prejudices, and keen, though controlled passions, was Ross +Carmichael, very self-sufficient, and terribly unwilling to forgive or +forget the smallest injury. + +This morning, however, he did not mind whether his bacon were well or +ill-cooked, hot or cold, and the fact that one egg was boiled too hard +quite escaped his attention. + +His 'Good-morning, James,' was spoken as usual, then he sat down to the +breakfast-table and ate the habitual meal in silence. James began to +grow anxious about his master. He was not often so taciturn. At the end +of a quarter of an hour the man ventured to inquire whether his master +felt the room cold and would like a fire. + +Mr. Carmichael lifted his eyes from his plate (fine, dark eyes they +were, in striking contrast to the bent white brows above them), checked +a desire to frown at the interruption to his reflections, and answered: + +'No, James, thank you. A fire? You know I never have one lit in this +room until October. This is only September.' + +'Yes, sir; but unusually cold to-day is.' + +Mr. Carmichael returned to his breakfast and meditation. In a few +seconds, however, he looked up again and smiled. + +'Do you remember that it was in September, ten years ago, that we +returned from Australia, you and I, James?' + +'Yes, sir, that I do. It was a capital journey, so we was told, but the +sea was a deal too playful for my tastes.' + +'Tut, tut; the sea was smooth--perfectly smooth--most of the time. You +will not have forgotten the "station" then, the homestead, and little +Miss Catherine?' + +'The young lady as used to ride better than most men do over here, sir? +It was a sight, and no mistake, to see her clearing the paling round +that place they called the Gum Paddock--and she not more than fourteen +or fifteen, or thereabouts.' + +'I never gossip,' said the old gentleman, after another pause. + +'No, sir; of course not.' + +'I had a reason when I spoke about the journey to and from Australia, +and the "homestead" where I stayed, You have served me tolerably well, +and I am sure loyally, to the best of your ability for so long now, +James, that I feel able to talk to you as I would to none of your +fellow-servants.' + +'I'm sure I hope so, sir,' cried the man, sorely puzzled, and not a +little hurt by the dictatorial and patronising tone of his master. + +His chagrined look touched Mr. Carmichael's heart. + +'Why, certainly, James; I regard you as a proved friend. Don't look as +though I had called you a murderer. We've faced perils together, +and--and----' + +Suddenly the 'squire' discovered that he was speaking strangely after +the manner of his brother (Catherine's Uncle Jack), and this surprising +fact made him break down altogether in his speech. The question to which +he had been gently leading up, in order not to surprise James into +feeling curious about it, burst without any warning from his lips. + +'Do you think Miss Catherine liked me--was fond of me--in those days, +James?' + +'Indeed, yes, sir; why, she was for ever talking about her uncles.' + +'AH! but _which_ did she prefer?' + +'Which uncle, sir?' + +'Yes. It was her Uncle John, was it not, James?' + +'Mr. Jack, sir? Well, she was certainly remarkably attached to him, but +then so she was to you, sir, and she seemed able to do anything she +liked with you, sir, and it's not many people that could be said of.' + +The squire pondered the answer, until he chuckled over it. The chuckle +ended with a sigh, though. + +Rising from the table, he drew a letter from his pocket and said +shortly: + +'Wrongly addressed; send Newton at once with it. And, James, after all +you may light the fire here, and another in the drawing-room, for I +expect Miss Catherine to see me this morning.' + +James gave a start of surprise. Before he had recovered from his +amazement sufficiently to reply, the squire had left the room, and was +shut up in the library. + +'"Miss Catherine" coming to Carm Hall! Why, "Miss Catherine" must be +quite grown up by this time!' + +Then James read the address on the letter in his hand: + + 'COLONEL J. CARMICHAEL, + + CARM HALL, + + BEVERBRIDGE.' + + 'Poor Mr. Jack! She reckoned he would be still here, in the old + home!' sighed the man to himself, as he hurried away to send Newton + at once with the missive. 'Strange, too, as the postman didn't know + better than to deliver his letter here; but no doubt he only looked + at the address, that's plain enough,--and where _he_ ought to be + too!' + +The elder Mr. Carmichael was not studying in the library. His +account-books lay untouched on his secretary-table; his morning papers +were not cut yet; the huge volumes of reference stood upright on the +shelves. He was sitting in his 'office-chair' before the desk, and there +was a lot of business correspondence awaiting his attention; but he was +only reading and re-reading the letter from his niece Catherine. + + 'WOODLEY COTTAGE, + + 'BEVERBRIDGE. + + 'MY DEAR UNCLE ROSS,-- + + 'I am coming to see you to-morrow morning--a few hours after you + will receive this! Since I wrote to you, last Christmas, my worldly + circumstances have undergone such a tremendous change that I am + obliged to earn my own living; for which fact many kind-hearted, + well-meaning folk have pitied me. _I wonder why_ they think me so + unfortunate? At the homestead I worked fifty times harder than my + duties as Mrs. Arderne's companion oblige me to do now; and, after + all, work is happiness, when God sanctions it. You shall hear no + grumbles from me, I promise you! My stepfather is not dead, only + bankrupt, and the station has passed into other hands. Mother's + money, the little fortune she left me, has vanished, and Alice is + married. Mrs. Arderne offered me a home just when I found myself + without one. The dear kind soul has no real need of a "companion," + so I tell her often; yet, as she does not wish me to leave her, I + feel justified in remaining under her roof. _This_ is a hired roof, + by-the-bye, uncle--a furnished villa, taken for six months, because + she has friends in the neighbourhood. Is it not a splendid + opportunity for me to see you both again? It is ten years since we + last met, when I rode with you as far as the boundary-rider's hut + on the Curra Paddock. We said good-bye at Wattle Creek, do you + recollect? Uncle Jack, seeing that I was nearly crying, tried to + cheer me by inviting me to Beverbridge for next Christmas; but I + went home in tears, because I knew I shouldn't be allowed to go to + England all by myself. Yet here I am--ten years later! I'm grown up + now, though; not "little Catherine" any longer! + + 'My pen has been running on, while I ought to have reserved all my + news to tell you to-morrow, when I see you again; and I have not + been able to resist writing to Uncle Jack as well as to you. + + 'Good-bye again, dear uncle, for a very short time now. + + 'Your affectionate niece, + + 'CATHERINE CARMICHAEL.' + +'Ha!--couldn't resist writing to "Uncle Jack" as well!' + +The squire sighed and frowned as he pondered this admission. + +Ten minutes later the library door behind him opened and shut, and he +was startled by a voice which cried: + +'Uncle, you didn't want me to wait ceremoniously in the drawing-room, +did you?' + +'Bless my soul, it is you, Catherine!' + +The girl let both her hands remain in his grasp, and stood facing him, +smiling, scrutinizing his face eagerly. + +'Yes, Catherine at twenty-five instead of fifteen! _You_ look very +little older, only your beard has turned quite white!... How is Uncle +Jack? Shall I see any difference in him? Is he as upright as ever?' + +'He--I--I really do not know, my dear.' + +'_Not know?_ Oh, you mean that people who are always together are easily +deceived on such points.' + +'No, I did not, Catherine. It is three years since your Uncle John and I +were always together!' + +'Your own, only brother! Perhaps he is abroad, serving his Queen and +country?' + +'He lives in Beverbridge still, but not here. Your letter has been sent +on to him by one of my servants, though I might reasonably have returned +it to Jenkins, the postman, who should have known his business better +than to have delivered it wrongly. Now come into the drawing-room, my +dear; there is a fire there.' + +'Please let us stay here. You look at home in this room. The +drawing-room will be a chilly-looking place, I know, in spite of the +fire.' + +Mr. Carmichael's gaze softened as it rested on the merry pleading face. + +'Still the same roguish young lady, Catherine? Bent on having your own +way, even in trivial matters! Ah, well, you _ought_ to have it, if it +doesn't spoil you.' + +'That latter sentence was an after-thought, uncle! Thank you! Remember, +I am not a spoilt child of fortune any longer, but poor Miss Carmichael, +the companion!' + +Her hearty laugh was not echoed by her relative. In his opinion the loss +of money was a great evil,--a few years earlier he would have been +disposed to think it the greatest possible, only he was beginning to +realize that riches are less powerful than is usually supposed. +Catherine, being quick to note changes of expression in those dear to +her, cried suddenly: + +'Uncle! you are sorry for me!' + +'Is that so remarkable, my dear?' + +'Perhaps not, only I--I regret it. Why should you worry over my case, +when it does not in the least distress me? If I were _very_ rich, I +should worry about the responsibility of such a stewardship, for fear I +might not make the best use of it, and so disappoint God.' + +Mr. Carmichael smiled involuntarily. + +'You have an extraordinarily familiar way of speaking of God!' + +'Because I used the words "disappoint God"? Does He not yearn over +sinners? Did Christ not weep over Jerusalem? Are we not told, "Ye have +wearied the Lord with your words"? If you, uncle, had showered love and +wonderful gifts upon a creature who cast away the affection and the +help, would not you be disappointed?... Oh, forgive me! My +thoughtlessness has hurt you! I--I forgot Loring!' + +Her penitence was very real, and tears had come into her eyes. She felt +desperately angry with herself for having reminded Uncle Ross of the +nephew who had run away to be a soldier. + +'Loring certainly disappointed me--he has left my home lonely; and you +are right in supposing that I prefer not to speak of him.' The old man's +brow had contracted with a frown, which deepened as he went on speaking. +'While we are upon the subject, Catherine, let me remind you that, had +not Loring despised money, as you seem to do, he would not have behaved +badly to me. I consider that men and women ought to desire and respect +wealth.' + +It was the office-chair in which Catherine was sitting. She swung it +round, that she might face her uncle, who was standing beside her, and +impulsively laid her hand on his, as she answered: + +'It is difficult to be quite frank with you, yet sincerity is always +best, isn't it? I don't despise money,--indeed, I do desire it,--at +least I should like more than I have, because--because I am engaged to a +very poor hard-working man, and we shall not be able to marry until his +circumstances have improved.' + +'Engaged, Catherine?' + +She blushed and nodded. + +'But please let me make my explanation first,--I will tell you all about +_him_ presently. Some one suggested to me that--that some people might +suppose that I--expected help from you, or--or----Oh, _please_ +understand, uncle dear, without any more explaining!' + +'Some one suggested that the pretty niece was going to see a rich old +uncle who would probably make her his heiress,--was that it? In this +cynical world motives are generally misjudged, my dear girl.' + +'I told the person (it was not Brian) that my Melbourne cousins were +nearer kin to you than I,--I am only a stepniece, though we have the +same surname,--and also that you have resolved to leave your fortune to +charities, as you told me by letter. All the same, I was foolishly +nervous lest you might misunderstand me; so I assured you, too bluntly, +that I am quite happy with Mrs. Arderne, and enjoy earning my own +living.' + +The frown had gone from the squire's brow. It was with a serene smile +that he asked, pressing Catherine's hand: + +'And I may believe without undue vanity, that you wanted to see the old +uncle again for his own sake?' + +'Yes; yes, indeed!' + +'Now tell me about this Brian. Is he worthy of you?' + +'Of course he is!' + +'That reply was expected.' + +'You mustn't tease me, if you want to hear about my first and last +romance!' + +Catherine was not used to speaking much about herself, so it was the +relation of Brian North's merits, talents, and history which she told +Uncle Ross, rather than the story of how she had learned to love this +man to whom her promise was plighted. + +The squire paid most attention to the description of Brian's abilities; +in fact, the moneyed gentleman was trying to calculate the author's +worth by estimating his possible financial success or failure. + +'If the young fellow has tact and imagination, and a practised pen, he +may win you a fortune yet, my dear; but if, as I suspect, he is one of +the large army of obstinate, blind, proud geniuses, then he isn't likely +to be able to offer you a home at all; in which case, I can only trust +you will grow tired of believing in him.' + +Catherine felt that her pleasure in meeting this uncle again was all +gone--dissipated by a few unsympathetic words! Yet, being genuinely fond +of him, and knowing that his worldly wisdom was far more on his lips +than in his heart, she tried to make allowances for him. Still, her +feelings had been really hurt. + +'You would not mistrust him if you knew him, uncle!' she cried eagerly. +'You wouldn't like me to have given him a half-hearted kind of love, +would you? If I didn't believe in him, trust him wholly, I should not +have promised to be his wife.' + +'Girls are too tender-hearted,' said the squire. 'And where their +affections are concerned they are utterly incapable of judgment. I will +try to believe in your impecunious betrothed, Catherine, and soon you +must make him come down to Beverbridge to see me, or rather that I may +see him.... In the meantime we will not discuss him. You will stay and +spend the day with me, of course?' + +'No, I cannot, uncle. I am sorry, but my time is not my own, you know. I +have to be back for lunch at one o'clock.' + +'Then you certainly need not spring up now! Sit down again, and I will +ring for my housekeeper, Mrs. Marlin,--a worthy soul,--to relieve you of +your hat and jacket.' + +'But it is a four-mile walk home, and--I must go to see Uncle Jack.' + +Again the frown came on Mr. Ross Carmichael's brow, and his voice +regained a cynical tone as he replied: + +'You are not likely to find my brother indoors in the morning; I believe +he employs his time in the office of the 3rd Battalion of the Royal +Beverbridge Volunteers. He will not have received your letter yet. If +you can bear to postpone your visit to him until evening, you had better +do so, unless indeed you want to spend some hours alone with Agatha.' + +'Poor Agatha! How is she?' + +'Worse, I believe. A life like that is better ended.' + +'God doesn't think so, that is evident,' said Catherine. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +Uncle Jack + + +Mrs. Arderne made Catherine give a full account of her visit to Uncle +Ross, but wisely refrained from commenting upon the recital, knowing +that her companion would be distressed by any expression of her own firm +opinion that a fortune and a good position were to be had for even less +than the asking. The kindly-natured, worldly woman was quite excited +over Catherine's prospects, though she dared not speak of them. A rich, +lonely old uncle, with no relatives near him but a brother from whom he +was estranged, and that brother's invalid ward, a girl twelve years of +age,--where could Catherine be more sure to find a benevolent patron for +Brian North (if she was resolved to be faithful to her promise to him), +or to whom could she more reasonably look for help in her orphanhood and +poverty? + +But Catherine was such an oddly unpractical, independent young woman +that she absolutely refused to speculate as to her chances! For this +reason, Mrs. Arderne felt positively bound to speculate for her, and to +persuade her to behave to Uncle Ross in a manner likely to please him. +Needless to say, therefore, she strongly disapproved of Catherine's +intention of visiting Uncle Jack on this, her first whole day at +Beverbridge. + +'My dear child, you really ought not to go roaming about the country +after nightfall,' she remonstrated. + +Ted and Toddie had just been sent back to the nursery, after the usual +game of play following upon dessert, and Catherine's cheeks were +flushed, her brown hair rumpled by exercise. She was now seated on a low +stool at Mrs. Arderne's side, smiling up at her confidentially. + +'Why, I simply couldn't get lost on a starlight night,--besides, I have +a compass on my watch-chain! Do you think I relied upon the aid of +street-lamps and sign-posts in Australia? Uncle Jack lives quite near +us, in a bye-lane or street of the village. The postman looked so +pleased just now when I asked him about Colonel John Carmichael! "The +nicest gentleman I ever met, miss," he said. "Quite one of the old sort. +There's no telling the kindnesses he's shown to the poor; not so much +money-giving, for folk do say he isn't well off enough for himself, but +in other ways, that mean more, usually. Oh, that village postman is +quite a philosopher, I assure you!' + +'You delayed Her Majesty's mail while you gossiped with him!' + +Catherine laughed. + +'I forgot that; he didn't seem in any hurry, and I'm sure he enjoyed +telling me about Uncle Jack.' + +Mrs. Arderne reverted to the original subject. + +'I am not at all certain that I shall let you out to-night, Miss +Carmichael.' + +'You--you _don't_ mean that, do you?' + +'Why should you annoy your Uncle Ross, who seems to have been very nice +to you? I am certain he will be vexed by your going at once to seek out +the brother with whom he has quarrelled.' + +'But the right of the quarrel is all on Uncle Jack's side,' said the +girl simply. 'You will understand that when you have met him.' + +'He persuaded Loring Carmichael to rebel against his elder uncle's +authority.' + +'He only talked to him enthusiastically of the army; Uncle Jack, dear +old fellow, never could talk even to me for a quarter of an hour without +mentioning Sebastopol! He is such a thorough, devoted soldier, and he +always abhorred mere money-earning life-occupations!' + +'The world would say that, in persuading his rich brother's adopted son +to rebel, he was probably actuated by money interests himself.' + +Catherine was silent and very grave. This was her habitual manner when +disappointed or grieved. + +Mrs. Arderne bent down to glance at the saddened young face, and +promptly repented for having banished its customary smile. + +'There, I'm sorry I said that! No doubt Mr. Jack is a guileless hero; +but such persons are often tiresome! Go and find him this evening, if +you must, only don't perversely quarrel with the other uncle on his +account,--that other, who has certainly been very badly treated!' + +So, after tea, Catherine set forth at a brisk pace through the village, +smiling to herself all the way so happily that many of the cottagers, +seeing her, smiled too for sympathy. + +Yes, here was the lane, or street rather, of which the postman had told +her, leading out of the old market square. A small white house stood on +the right, planted sideways, within a high wall. There was no proper +entrance to it, only a narrow wooden door, painted green, and inscribed +with the name, Redan Cottage. + +At the sight of that address (which, after the manner of country +dwellers, the postman had omitted to mention, having called the house +'Carmichael's'), Catherine's smile widened, and her heart began to beat +fast in her eagerness. Redan Cottage!--of course that was the name Uncle +Jack _would_ have chosen for his house! + +No sooner had she rung the bell than the door opened as if by magic, and +a rosy-cheeked lad invited her to follow him across a tiny +stone-floored yard, under an ivied porch, and indoors. + +'I am expected!' thought Catherine. + +Indeed, the boy had not paused to ask her name or business, and now +preceded her into a little dark room, with the announcement: + +'Miss Catherine's come at last, please, sir!' + +Uncle Jack had been pacing the room--a short promenade! His niece had +just time to find out how overwhelmingly delighted she was to see him +once again, before he had put his arm round her shoulders and kissed her +cheek, as a father might have done. + +'My darling! What, crying? Oh, it's a long while since we said good-bye +at Wattle Creek, isn't it? I couldn't tell you how often I've wanted my +niece since then. But I believed we should meet again some day, and I've +found out that the times chosen by the Great Commander are always best +and fittest, lassie.' + +'Uncle Jack, why didn't you write oftener to me? Why did you let me +forget even a little bit how good you were to me, and how fond we were +of one another? When you call me "lassie" it all comes back to me. I +used to fancy that my father must have been like you.' + +'An uncle isn't as much good as a father; still, he may be some use. And +you are poor now--your possessions have melted away! We won't call the +absent bad names, lassie, will we? but I always saw "rascal" written on +your stepfather's brow. He couldn't stand fire properly, though he ought +to have been used to it out there. I remember once I held my sword to +his throat, too--to show him how poor Northcote died; and he winced +under it. Still, I won't blame him, since we are the gainers by his +wrong-doing, Agatha and I.' + +'Gainers? How is that?' + +'Because you are coming home, my dear, to live with us. Sit there in +the basket-chair--it was bought for you this morning, for this room was +rather short of chairs--and good old Harriet made the cushions. I verily +believe she went without her dinner that she might get them finished. +Ah, you kept us waiting a long time, lassie! Robert has been in the yard +nearly all day, he was so anxious not to keep you on the doorstep.' + +Catherine sat down in the chair, and could not find words to answer with +all at once. Home! Uncle Jack had taken her consent to his invitation +for granted! _Home!_ And even the postman knew that he 'wasn't well +enough off for himself'! Oh, the dear, true-hearted, generous old man! +And what could she say? She could not bear to hurt his feelings, yet she +must not be a burden upon him. Tears were in her eyes, and it was with +the utmost difficulty that she steadied her voice to thank him. + +'Gratitude? Nonsense, my dear (if I may use such a word to a lady). +Think of the joy your presence will be to us--Agatha, myself, old +Harriet, and even Robert. I haven't been able to resist talking about +you to the servants, and they have been very curious to see you; you +would have laughed at Harriet's endeavour to get a cake made ready to +greet you. She is not the typical, cross housekeeper, resenting +interference. Indeed, she told me to-day that we all need some one to +smarten us up, and that you, "being a travelled young lady," would be +sure to do it!' + +In this way did Colonel Jack talk on, softly patting Catherine's hand, +and trying to give her time to control her evident emotion. + +She understood this, and appreciated it. Soon her eyes began to smile +through her tears, and she cried: + +'You _know_ I am grateful, so I need not speak any more thanks to you; +but oh, Uncle Jack, dear, until you offered me a home I had not realized +the loneliness of being without one. Mrs. Arderne has always been so +kind to me (you remember her, don't you?) that I've never been sorry for +myself while with her, and Uncle Ross's pity this morning only made me +feel more independently cheerful!' + +'So I've taught you to be lonely, lassie?' + +'No; you first made me long for a home, and then you gave me one! I +cannot come to live in it altogether, for I must earn my living--not be +an idle creature, you know; but Redan Cottage is "home" for me from +henceforth--"home," to love, to remember, to dream of, to visit, to +spend my holidays in!' + +Uncle Jack looked troubled. + +'Catherine, you are not--what is commonly called "an advanced woman," +are you? You are not of opinion that women should do all the work in the +world?' + +She laughed. + +'No, indeed! but a penniless young woman certainly should support +herself, if she is able to do so. Dearest of uncles, don't you think +that, by coming "home" to subsist upon the income which keeps up this +establishment, I should be defrauding Agatha, if not you?' + +'The poor child would receive benefits that no money could buy her: your +love and care--and counsel, especially counsel.' + +'Whose counsel can be better than yours?' + +There was a shake of the white head. + +'I'm a beginner in Christianity, Catherine,' said the colonel +thoughtfully. 'In my youth I wasn't taught much about God, and then my +ambitions and enthusiasm for the service left me no time, so I imagined, +for other than military studies. Naturally, when my comrades were +falling around me, I prayed, for them and for myself, if I were about to +fall too; still, I knew next to nothing of the Lord whose help I asked. +Lately I _have_ been studying the Bible, and I'm honestly ashamed of my +purposeless past. Every time I pray I make the best excuse I can to the +Creator, by assuring Him that had I been so fortunate as to know Him +earlier, I would have served Him as loyally as, thanks be to Him, I have +always served my Queen.' + +Catherine's smile was very tender as she looked at the colonel's +reverential face. + +'God must quite understand you!' + +'Do you think so? You used to talk of Him in the old days, I recollect, +but I regarded your piety as a mere part of a gentle girl's +sentiments--as a sort of beautiful romance unsuitable for men to share. +Dear, what a fool I was, Catherine (if you will excuse the strong +expression)!' + +'You are God's own soldier now, dear uncle. I am glad indeed. Nothing is +equal to the peace of serving Him who died for us.' + +'Ah, what a soldier He was!--the Great Commander is the title I like +best to give Him. You will teach me all you know about Him, will you +not, my child?' + +Catherine's fingers returned the pressure of his hand. + +'We will teach each other, Uncle Jack. And even when we are absent one +from another we shall know that we are both looking in the same +direction, towards the glory of the Prince of Peace and the King of +Battles.' + +'If you _must_ earn your living, lassie!' + +'It seems to be a clear duty. I will never stay away from home out of +pride, or because I do not like to take favours from you, you may be +quite sure of that. And if Brian could only find employment in this +neighbourhood, oh, how glad I should be! He is not very strong, his +health would be so much better in the country, and he would have quiet +hours in which to write.... Oh, I forget--you don't know about Brian +yet!' + +'Your bright face tells your secret, lassie. Tell me you love him, and +that he loves you with all his heart, and then I shall be quite +satisfied!' + +'Yes, to both those questions! He is a poor, hard-working journalist, +earning a bare livelihood for himself.' + +'That doesn't matter; his love will give him courage to work on for you, +and God will reward him some day!' + +'He does not call God "Father" yet; his mind is only just groping nearer +to the Light; his heart has not yet been taken captive by the Lord.' + +'You will teach him, as I want to be taught. God will help you.' + +'Uncle Jack, you are the dearest consoler and encourager possible! Brian +shall love you almost as well as I do! He shall come to see you very, +very soon! Uncle Ross wants to see him too; isn't it strange?' + +'Surely not strange, lassie. He would naturally be interested. If my +brother offers you a home with him--what then? You will be standing in +your own light if you refuse. He is a rich man; Carm Hall is more fitted +than this cottage to be your shelter. You mustn't allow any--any +affection for me to--to influence you in this matter.' + +Yet, bravely though the colonel was looking this possibility in the +face, nobly though he was anxious for Catherine's welfare rather than +for his own pleasure, the contemplation of his vision of what might be, +cast a shadow into his eyes. Watching him, Catherine learned how +sincerely he wanted her. + +Though a most unworldly young woman (as Mrs. Arderne had often told +her), she could not help understanding that she had made a choice which +most people would blame and ridicule. She had promised always to regard +Redan Cottage as home. Though she honestly believed that Uncle Ross +would keep to his intention of leaving his wealth to be divided among +charities, she could not deny that he might offer her, and even her +husband, a home during his lifetime--possibly a small portion of his +fortune might be set aside for them. + +Yet, as she had said, she believed 'the right of the quarrel to be on +Uncle Jack's side,' and never could she deny this belief. + +The result of her short reflection was that she said happily, 'I have +got a home now, and I prefer it to any other at present existing in all +the world, dear colonel!' + +'Then my duty is done! I need never again try to persuade you to desert +me, lassie! And if Brian is vexed with me----' + +'But he won't be.' + +'No doubt you can answer for him, so I won't trouble over any +supposition! Ross does not need you, as Agatha does. He is a good man, +in his own way; Heaven forbid I should judge him harshly, but he would +not be grateful for being taught religion.' + +'My choice is made, uncle dear, and you may be sure I shall never, never +regret it!' + +'God bless you, lassie!' + +The old gentleman bent his lips to his niece's hand, and they were both +silent for a minute or two, gazing into the fire. Then he said: + +'I must take you to Agatha now; the poor little maid will be wearying +for you.' + +So Catherine was led out of the tiny parlour, across the hall of this +doll's house of a cottage, past the open door of the kitchen, where old +Harriet and Robert were waiting to catch a glimpse of her as she passed, +and into another room as wee as the parlour, where bright pictures, pink +curtains and upholstery generally, and the presence of flowers, +betokened the colonel's fatherly care for his adopted ward. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +Catherine's Resolution + + +Agatha had been an invalid all her short life. Suffering had made her +fretful and terribly nervous, especially of death, which she always +imagined to be coming soon to her. She was not at all resigned to her +lot, nor anxious to learn resignation, unless to escape the punishment +that she feared must be the result of rebellion. + +A more unhappy, self-tormenting child could scarcely exist. + +Directly Catherine caught sight of the piteous-looking countenance, with +its great dark passionate eyes, her heart went out to Agatha. + +The little girl was lying flat on a wheel-couch before the fire, with +her face turned away from the warmth, towards the door of the room. +There were tears on her cheeks; she had been indulging in a stormy fit +of crying because she had been, as the colonel had surmised, wearying +for the coming of Catherine. + +'You might have come to me sooner!' + +These were her first words. + +Bending to kiss her--a greeting that was warmly returned--Catherine +answered: + +'It is such a long while since I saw Uncle Jack that it was excusable +for us to have a great deal to say to one another, wasn't it? Don't +scold me on the very first evening of our acquaintance, Agatha, for you +and I will be friends soon, I hope. It is very nice of you to be anxious +to share your home with me, dear. I cannot come to live here, but I +shall pay you frequent visits, and spend my holidays with you both.' + +'You won't come altogether?' + +'I cannot give up my work.' + +Agatha laughed bitterly, and shrugged her shoulders with the gesture of +a spoiled child. + +'I suppose you're afraid of offending our enemy! Guardian, don't look +cross with me because I said that! He _is_ our enemy, if he isn't more +willing to make up the quarrel than you say he is. Miss Carmichael, +you'll be very silly if you don't take Uncle Ross's side of the dispute, +not ours! Being poor, and living in a tiny cottage, and having to be +economical, _is_ so horrid!' + +The colonel showed no sign of being cross; there was only an expression +of perplexity in the gaze he bent upon his ward. + +'Now, dearie, do not try to shock Catherine--she will not understand, as +I do, that you never mean one half the shocking things you say.' + +'Oh, guardian, I can't be polite to her, just as though she were a +stranger, for I'm much too glad she's come. Catherine, if you make Uncle +Ross adopt you, I suppose you'll be cutting us out, spoiling any chances +we may have, you know, but I don't mind that a bit, and you can see +guardian doesn't. Will you promise _always_ to remember that? I _would_ +like the quarrel to be made up, just so that we went back to Carm Hail +to live, but that's all! I don't want any one to leave money to us, +because----Oh, never mind about why. Only say you won't misunderstand +when I grumble! I want _you_ most of all; if you'd come and live here, +it wouldn't be as dull, and it's only the dulness that matters much.' + +This extraordinary series of sentences was delivered in a jerky, +half-shy, half-reckless fashion, and Agatha's glance remained fixed on +Catherine's face. + +Stroking the child's thin cheek, Miss Carmichael asked playfully: + +'Don't you know that you would have to be still more economical if I +came to live here, dear?' + +To her amazement Agatha burst into tears. + +'There! you will misunderstand me! I only mind economy because I'm +miserable often, and dull, and frightened. Now you've forced me to tell +the truth, and guardian's feelings will be hurt. Oh, I'm always doing +wrong somehow!' + +Catherine sat down on the edge of the couch, and laid her face on the +tumbled mass of brown curls. + +'You little goose! I was half in fun. I do believe that you want me to +come; only I can't, so you must be content to have me sometimes.' + +The sobs still continued. + +Uncle Jack smiled wistfully at his niece, shook his head with a puzzled +air, and stole out of the room, wisely thinking that the two girls, of +ages so different, would arrive sooner at mutual understanding if they +were left alone together. + +Catherine refrained from asking for an explanation of the sobs, and +presently Agatha raised a tear-strewn face out of the pillows, and +nestling her cheek against her new friend's arm, said penitently: + +'I'm sorry I'm such a little beast. My ideas are all in a muddle, so +that it's impossible for me to make you understand what I mean. And I +was trying to be diplomatic, and you've no notion how difficult that is +when one's head is always aching!' + +'Poor little woman! But why want to be diplomatic? Simplicity is true, +noble and best. Your guardian has a simple heart.' + +'I am going to _try_ to make you understand, Catherine!' cried Agatha +resolutely. 'Ever since guardian adopted me I've heard praises of +you--of your courage, and sincerity, and beauty, and talents--until +you've become a sort of _ideal_ to me. Do you see?' + +'A very poor basis to found an ideal upon!' laughed Catherine. + +'I know all about your Australian life--how you found out when the +stockman (Jock was his name, wasn't it?) was being cruel to the cattle, +and you told your stepfather about him, in spite of his threats of +revenge. I've made a map of the station, and guardian marked the +paddock-fence where your pony threw you when you were a child, and you +called to your mother that you were "all right," though your leg was +broken! I know how you used to spend your time, working for poor people, +and trying to make the awful rough men kinder to their wives and +children--and teaching the children about God and reading the Bible to +invalids. Oh, you're a very satisfactory ideal, I assure you!' + +Catherine's face was one bright blush at this enthusiastic commendation. +She was about to protest against it, but Agatha went on eagerly: + +'Don't contradict, please don't, for it's all true. I told you about it, +so that you might leave off being surprised at my wanting you so much. +You _can't_ seem like a stranger. I made up my mind to love you, long +before I guessed you'd come to England, so when your letter came this +morning I went just wild with delight. Guardian said at once that you +would live with us, and then I thought how beautiful life would be. +There was nothing but happiness in my mind until then.' + +She paused, frowning at the consideration of what came afterwards. + +'Go on, dear,' said Catherine encouragingly. + +'Then I found out that my wishes were all in a muddle too. Living in a +cottage _is_ so tedious! There's nothing to see, and nothing to do. +Guardian's out a great deal, busy over the volunteers, and there's no +one but Robert to help Harriet, so he can't be spared often to wheel my +chair. I do most dreadfully want to go back to Carm Hall to live, to +have nice food, and pretty rooms, and money to buy presents, and--oh, +and everything I used to have! Now, I suppose, you think me horrid and +mean!' + +'No, dearie.' + +'Uncle Ross--I always called him that, you know--won't make the first +advance, so the quarrel won't ever be made up unless guardian tries to +do it. He would if he wasn't so proud, for he's very unhappy about being +at war with a brother. You should just hear him pray about it every +morning and night,--for we've family prayers now, with Harriet and +Robert,--his voice often shakes, and on Uncle Ross's birthday the +prayers are ever so long. At Christmas, and Easter, and any +home-anniversary, he is just wretched, Catherine. Yet he is too proud to +be persuaded to make any more advances.' + +'Any _more_?' repeated Miss Carmichael, questioningly. + +'Yes, he made lots at first. He used to write, until Uncle Ross refused +to open any more letters; he sent congratulations to him on his +birthday, until that message came back unread; he always spoke on +Sundays in the churchyard, until once, when it was the anniversary of +Loring's going away, and through a chance word the quarrel got as bad as +ever again; and now Uncle Ross always passes us by with a stiff bow. Oh, +guardian is in the right, only he's unhappy, and Uncle Ross isn't. +Catherine, I scarcely know _what_ I want! that is the truth! I should +hate for uncle to adopt you, because that would take you away from us; +yet I almost began to hope that your coming would patch up the feud +somehow. Can't you be peacemaker?' + +'I will do everything in my power to promote peace, dear.' + +'Yet by choosing this cottage for "home" you'll offend Uncle Ross +bitterly. It'll be like Loring's choice all over again!--between Carm +Hall and riches, and guardian and poverty. For it was his love for +guardian that made Loring want to be a soldier. Dear Loring! He was +always so good to me! Catherine, most people would call your choice +dreadfully silly!' + +Catherine was aware of this, but her brave spirit was quite undaunted by +the reflection. The choice had been offered her suddenly, between +hurting Uncle Jack's feelings and accepting the home he had so lovingly +offered her; and as her heart had dictated, so had she acted. In +gratitude and affection had the choice been made. Now, far from +regretting it, she had become aware of many strong reasons in its +favour. + +To begin with, it gave her the chance to be Uncle Jack's confidante, +even in a humble way his helper, in religious questions; it provided her +with freedom which she could use in trying to heal the quarrel between +her uncles; it offered her a new task and duty, that of helping poor, +fretful, ignorant, passionate Agatha to find peace in the thought of +Jesus Christ. + +Had Catherine remained homeless, she could have done, perhaps, much of +the work she was already yearning to perform, but Uncle Ross might have +doubted her perfect sincerity. Now she could not be suspected of +mercenary motives in trying to influence him. Had she waited until he +had offered her a home at Carm Hall, which might have happened, she +would either have been obliged to offend him by refusing, or probably +would have been forbidden to visit Redan Cottage. No!--though the world +might ridicule her unselfish choice, she was proud and glad of it! + +For Brian North's sake it was natural that she should momentarily regret +the lost chance of Uncle Ross's help for him; but she was perfectly +sincere in the hearty words by which she assured Agatha that, though +her choice might be ridiculed by some, she was yet both determined and +happy in it. + +The girl clung to her, and protested both against her resolution to stay +with Mrs. Arderne and her obligation to return now to Woodley Villa. But +Catherine was firm. + +'You'll come again to-morrow, won't you?' + +'If I possibly can, darling.' + +'Oh, I want you so badly! I think you'll help me not to be so miserable. +I'm _very_ ill, you know; the pain's often bad, and then I think I'm +going to die at once, and--and if I _did_, I'm certain I shouldn't--go +to heaven.' + +'_Agatha!_' + +With attempted bravado Agatha laughed. + +'No, of course I shouldn't! I'm beastly selfish, and I've never done +anything but _think_ grumbles at God. I'm not resigned a bit,--not meek +and humble of heart,--I don't see why I should be.' + +'Don't you? Have you never thought about the debt we sinners owe to the +Son of the Heavenly Father, who died upon the cross for us, that we +might become entitled to the glorious eternity of heavenly life?' + +'But God made me,--crippled, useless, invalided as I am!' + +'But, dearie, suppose some great physician came to tell you that you +must suffer and be helpless for one short hour, and that then you would +recover your health and strength for eighty or ninety years, would you +not bless his name?' + +'Of course I would!' + +'And supposing that the physician had obtained your cure through making +some colossal sacrifice himself as a propitiation?' + +'Catherine--you--you mean that Christ is the Great Physician!' + +'Yes, dear. When from the eternal heavens you look back upon your life +of pain and weariness on earth, it will seem but as a fleeting hour, and +you will wonder why you couldn't understand God's loving promises better +while you lived,--why you grumbled at the moments of suffering which His +compassion sent you to purify your soul from sin, to prevent your caring +too much for the things of this earth. Why, Agatha, don't we despise a +little child who cries and storms about some momentary, necessary pain? +Yet we all of us behave just as weakly before the eyes of our Father.' + +'But I shan't ever get to heaven. I'm not good.' + +'Jesus came on earth to save sinners. Remember how we are told, "The +Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will +rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over +thee with singing." Tell me, is that a picture of a cruel God? of One +who does not feel for the weakness and perversity of human nature? Oh, +my dearie, think over those three words only, "He will save," and offer +Him your heart, with all its imperfect longings. He is the Saviour who +"pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by transgression," who "retaineth not +His anger for ever, because He delighteth in mercy."' + +Agatha's dark eyes gazed wonderingly at Catherine's sweet, smiling face. + +'I--I will think about Him,' she whispered after a pause. 'But, oh, do +come again to-morrow if you can. Guardian doesn't talk about God as +clearly as you do; he's groping after Him still, Catherine, but you +speak and look just as though you'd been to heaven yourself, and seen +Him face to face!' + +'So may we all see Him, dear,--in the blessings of earth, in daisies, +and sunsets, and storms; in love, and humility, and suffering. For +heaven is where He is, and He is everywhere! I shall pray that you may +receive Him into your heart, and so make heaven there, little Agatha.' + + + + +CHAPTER V + +An Unshaken Resolution + + +When Catherine ran up the steps of the villa on her return that night, +she caught sight of Mrs. Arderne's anxious eyes peeping through a front +window at her, and the door was quickly opened by that lady herself. + +'My dear girl, I have been worrying about you! How dark it is outside!' + +'I am not late for supper, am I?' + +'No. I only worried because you were out alone in the darkness.' + +'You dear soul! It was very kind of you, but there was nothing at all +terrible to be met with in this peaceful English village! The poorer +people are all out now, shopping for to-morrow--it is Saturday night, +you know. There! I don't believe that a companion ought to call her +employer "You dear soul." Why don't you scold me when I forget our new +relation to one another?' + +Mrs. Arderne patted Catherine's rosy cheek, and taking her arm led her +into the sitting-room, where supper was spread for two. + +'Because I do not wish you to be a bit different, child, except in the +way of having more worldly wisdom in your private affairs. I hoped that +your impecunious Uncle Jack would disappoint you, and his ward prove a +captious, annoying, spoiled invalid, instead of which he has evidently +pleased you so well that even Miss Agatha has not been able to put you +out of spirits.' + +'Poor little Agatha!--indeed, she too pleased me!' + +Mrs. Arderne sighed. + +'It is a disappointment to _me_, I assure you, to see you come back +wearing that radiant face!' + +'They have been so good to me! And the night air is deliciously cold, +and I'm as hungry as a hunter! I must be an expensive companion, for I +eat so much, don't I?' + +'Not a morsel more than a healthy girl should. Satisfy your appetite, +Catherine; then we will sit round the fire while you give me an honest +account of your visit to Redan Cottage.' + +So, when the servant had cleared away, the two friends began a cosy +chat, the younger seated as usual on a low stool, leaning her right arm +on the elder's knee. + +It was a joy to Catherine, this description of her visit to her Uncle +Jack and Agatha, for it enabled her to recall the incidents of an +eventful evening, and helped her to understand better both his character +and that of his ward. The more she reflected and spoke, the more did she +see that she had chosen rightly, and Mrs. Arderne's well-meant regrets +only made her own courage and gratitude the stronger. + +After some discussion Mrs. Arderne asked, in bewildered tones: + +'Is it mere preference for one uncle that has made you choose to +sacrifice all your chances, child?' + +'No. There are many, many reasons why I could not have chosen otherwise. +You would not have had me refuse a kind offer, hurt Uncle Jack's +feelings, disappoint Agatha, and deny my own wishes as well, and all for +the sake of a possible financial advantage, would you? Uncle Ross did +not offer me a home at all; and if he had done so, I don't think I could +have accepted it. He would have expected me to share his line of policy +towards Uncle Jack. Besides, I should have felt a mercenary wretch. +Since I am blessed with health and an opportunity to earn my own +living, I ought not to live in idleness and luxury at any relative's +expense. And I should be wrong, were I to accept from one uncle the +wealth which belongs rightly to his nearest relative--the other uncle.' + +'Now I do begin to understand!' cried Mrs. Arderne. 'Your pride +influenced you principally in the making of your choice.' + +Catherine raised her frank eyes to meet the disapproving gaze of her +friend. + +'I don't think it was a bad kind of pride,' she answered simply. 'And I +was only leading up to my biggest reason of all.' + +'Probably that is as absurd as the others, my dear!' + +'I hope you won't try to think lightly of it, dear Mrs. Arderne, for it +is the best and sincerest part of me. It is--my love for God. Uncle Jack +and Agatha are actually in need of help that I can give them, while they +in their turn will help me to lead the higher life, which is the only +worthy one. We shall encourage one another to serve God better.' + +'But you are not going to live at Redan Cottage, thank goodness!' + +'No. I shall only spend most of my spare hours there so long as we are +in the neighbourhood, and all my holidays will pass there, at home. Then +I can write to them very, very often during the times I am away. As a +rule people do not make half enough use of the post. It offers a +splendid means of communication between friends who are parted.' + +'And if you had agreed to live at Carm Hall, you would have been within +five miles of these beloved relatives!' + +'I should have been dependent upon a man who behaves persistently ill to +them. Dear, kind friend, do you not suppose that if Uncle Ross became my +benefactor, to the extent of giving me my daily all, he would not try, +and be more or less justified in expecting, to make me obedient to his +wishes in all important matters? If I let him be as a father to me, +shouldn't I owe him consideration? And "consideration" in his opinion +would mean giving up constant intercourse with those who have offended +him.' + +'But, child, child, your Uncle Jack and Agatha can surely become +religious without your aid, if they desire to.' + +Catherine laughed blithely. + +'Why, of course--only I think that I can help them, and that God means +me to do so. If a poor man asked you for an alms, and you were _sure_ he +was very hungry, you wouldn't refuse to give to him because some one +else might be just as well able to do so. I have had experience in +regard to the destitution of souls that know not God's peace. There is a +spiritual hunger which is worse, far, far worse, both to bear and to +witness, than mere bodily starvation!' + +An impatient sigh escaped Mrs. Arderne's lips. + +'You are an incorrigible zealot, evidently!' + +'I hope so.' + +'At least you will admit that you could be just as religious yourself at +Carm Hall as at Redan Cottage.' + +'Oh yes; but Uncle Ross doesn't like people to be religious. He would +attack my faith daily with sharp little weapons of perfectly courteous +ridicule, and when I repulsed the attack he would be angry at heart with +me.' + +'You could have borne that for Brian's sake, I should have thought, and +you could have told your Uncle Jack to apply for religious instruction +to the proper person, namely, the clergyman of the parish.' + +'Mr. Burnley, if he is still here, could scarcely be expected to spare +time to smooth away all my poor little Agatha's nervous fears and +doubts, even supposing she could be persuaded to tell them to him. Dear +Mrs. Arderne, do not try to destroy my choice, for it is irrevocably +made, and I am very happy in it.' + +'It is full of conceit, Catherine! You imagine you have a solemn mission +from God to convert your heathen relatives.' + +Catherine's face clouded. + +'_Don't, dear!_' she pleaded earnestly. 'Don't try to be bitter or +cynical, for those moods are quite unlike you. I may be conceited, I +daresay I am, about other matters, but not about my knowledge of the +love and mercy of our Saviour. That is a subject upon which I own my +ignorance, for every hour that I live I make some new, beautiful, +blessed discovery in it! But it is certain that God gives to each one of +us some particular duties, some work to be performed to His honour and +glory, and I cannot refuse to do that which seems to me both right and +necessary. You wouldn't really wish me to choose to serve Mammon instead +of God!' + +Mrs. Arderne would not own that she was convinced of Catherine's wisdom, +though she could not advance another argument against the latter's +decision. She contented herself with exclaiming: + +'You are a most disappointing young woman, Catherine!' + +'As a companion, please, ma'am?' asked the culprit, who was genuinely +amused by this description of herself. + +'N-no; disappointing to your friends--to me especially, because I had +set my heart upon seeing you reinstated in a position suited to you, +either by your uncle or by your marriage.' + +'My Brian does not please you?' + +'You will not please him by this last folly.' + +'He isn't a bit mercenary. You will see, he will approve my choice, when +he has read the long letter I mean to write him before breakfast +to-morrow morning. He will sympathise, too, with my great wish, which is +that, with God's help, I may be able to act as peacemaker between my +uncles.' + +'Good gracious, child, I never contemplated that possibility!' + +'Did you not? It will be a difficult task.' + +'So I should imagine.' + +'But if I could but do it, they would all be so much happier! Dear Uncle +Jack frets about the quarrel; he is really attached to his brother. +Uncle Ross is terribly lonely in his big house, with no one to love him. +Then Agatha could have the care and nursing she needs.' + +'And Catherine Carmichael could have----' + +'I don't understand you,' said the girl slowly, trying to read Mrs. +Arderne's meaning in her face. 'I--should lose Redan Cottage for a home. +And--oh, I suppose "home" would be Carm Hall then. How funny!' + +'How ridiculously unpractical you are! A veritable _baby_! This new plan +of yours, Miss Peacemaker, is the one way in which you can make up to +your friends, your lover, and yourself for the folly of your choice! +Reconcile your uncles and go to live with them. Mr. Ross Carmichael will +alter his will, and leave his thousands to you instead of to charities.' + +There was a very mischievous smile playing round Catherine's lips while +she listened to Mrs. Arderne's eagerly explained advice, a smile which +increased as she answered, 'I _am_ glad that you approve of me for +something, and that our wishes coincide for once! I mean to try my very +hardest to bring about that reconciliation; but I shall work for dear +Uncle Jack's sake principally, then for Agatha's, lastly for Uncle +Ross's. And if I am happy enough to succeed, I shall be so glad and +proud that no worldly prospects of my own could possibly make me +happier!' + +'_I_ can be mercenary-minded for you--that is one comfort, child.' + +'It would be nicer if you would not.' + +'Nonsense; you surely aren't so mad that you despise wealth and power?' + +'No; only I hate to calculate about them, and I don't covet them. God +will send me enough daily bread, and that is all that matters.' + +'For the sake of Brian----' + +'Riches and position are not always blessings, dear Mrs. Arderne. We are +told in the Bible, "He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye," "He +that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver," and "How hardly +shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!" Neither for +Brian nor for myself can I covet a stewardship the duties of which we +may not be fitted to perform, which might take from us the best +wealth--God's love.' + +'Of course I cannot say any more, since you have taken to quoting the +Bible, Catherine. My memory for texts was always a bad one.' + +'Ted and Toddie shall not be able to say that when they are grown +up--not unless they wilfully forget all I teach them, and they love +their Scripture lessons too well to do that. Do you know, Toddie told me +yesterday that God seems ever so much _realer_ than other kings? Wasn't +it sweet of her?' + +Mrs. Arderne gave Catherine's brow a quick kiss. + +'Naturally _I_ think most of Toddie's speeches sweet. Go on training my +babes in the knowledge of the Creator, Catherine, for I--I shouldn't +like them to grow up to be worldly like their mother.' + +'You only _try_ to be worldly, your heart isn't one bit so.' + +'Yes, it is; I love all the pleasures and vanities of life. Now go to +bed, Catherine, child, or you will oversleep yourself in the morning, +and not be able to write that lengthy letter to Brian North.' + +The girl sprang up, and clasped her strong young arms round her friend, +crying: + +'Good-night, then, you dearest of employers. Tell me once again that you +_do_ really want me, and that you will give me notice directly I cease +to be of use to you.' + +'Have I not told you, just this minute, that I want you for my babies' +sakes as well as for my own? If Ted and Nora had not their "dear Carr" +to teach them about God, they might question mother, and find out how +little her knowledge is on the subject. You have another mission here, +Catherine, for the enlightenment of ignorance.' + +'And "mother" knows where to seek knowledge, whereas babies do not. +Thank you again and again, dear, for making me welcome.' + +Mrs. Arderne turned the conversation into a more shallow channel by +laughingly reminding her young friend: + +'We shall probably get on together famously for the future, because your +plan and my plan for you are identical. We are both bent upon the +reconciliation of your uncles.' + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +A Sunday's Experiences + + +Catherine Carmichael was up and dressed next day fully two hours before +any one else was stirring in Woodley Villa. Then she said her prayers, +and read her Bible, and still had plenty of time left for the writing of +her letter. + +Softly opening the bedroom window, which was in the front of the house, +she placed her desk on a small table, and sat down where she could feel +the fresh wind and look out occasionally over the country scene. + +A September sunrise, and an open window! Mrs. Arderne would have been +horrified at Catherine's imprudence, but to this girl an open-air life +had been natural in all weathers, and for early hours she had a strong +preference. + +'Before breakfast' was always her thinking-time. She was of opinion that +men and women need leisure in which to reflect upon their lives, and to +remember both the high purpose and the unimportance of earthly +existence. Beginning the day thus, with happy realization of the +creature's indebtedness to the Creator, she found daily crosses and +perplexities much easier to bear with serenity, while joys and innocent +pleasures acquired double powers of satisfaction, by being hallowed with +foreseeing gratitude. + +The country was very quiet at this early hour of the Sabbath; no +agricultural workers were abroad, and smoke had scarcely begun to issue +from the picturesquely irregular chimneys of the village. In front of +the villa were fields, pasture land upon which grazed some venerable +horses, and across which a path wound away to a distant wood. Over the +trees hung a pearl-tinted mist, which the sunshine was beginning to +dispel. When, presently, the sun contrived to peep between two barriers +of cloud, the wood gleamed golden and gorgeous, as the light struck upon +its copper beeches. + +Catherine unconsciously smiled at the loveliness spread out before her +eyes, and remembered the words of a poet: + + 'What sweeter aid my matins could befall + Than this fair glory from the East hath made? + What holy sleights hath God, the Lord of All, + To bid us feel and see! We are not free + To say we see not, for the glory comes, + Nightly and daily, like the flowing sea.' + +Then she took up her pen and began to write to Brian. + +This was no hard task, for she knew that he liked her letters to be +rambling and unstudied, consisting of sentences from her heart, just as +she loved best to make them. All her pure girl's fancies and imaginings +about the higher life, all her tender anxieties--on the subject of +himself usually--her fears for his health, and longings for his complete +understanding of God, all her merry discoveries in her daily life, all +the kindnesses she received, all her hopes for the future, these were +written down simply for his interest. Fortunately, Brian North could be +trusted to appreciate and reverence Catherine's sincerity. The letter, +when written, was a precious revelation of a good woman's very soul. + +Probably the 'good woman' herself would never guess how large an effect +her letters wrought upon Brian's heart and intellect, how he was +learning to accept her ideas, see God through her eyes, and exchange +his worldly ambitions for her lofty content with aspirations infinitely +nobler. + +She was quite unconsciously setting him a lovable model of a Christian +life, as all God-serving girls should be able to do for those who are +dear to them. + +Her pen flew over the several sheets of paper, until she felt satisfied +that her lover had been given a really accurate description of her new +experiences at Beverbridge. She had honestly tried not to allow her +great affection for Uncle Jack to prejudice her in writing of Uncle +Ross, yet she wanted Brian to be prepared to be devoted to the former. + +Mrs. Arderne's suggestion that Brian would not approve of his +betrothed's acceptance of Redan Cottage as 'home' scarcely occurred to +Catherine this morning. She had not the least doubt that she had acted +in the best way in regard to Uncle Jack's offer, and so, loyally, she +felt certain that Brian must agree with her when he considered the +subject. + +The letter, though of even unusual length, was finished some time before +the hour for breakfast, so Catherine began to write another to her +cousin George in Melbourne, the cousin who had been in the same regiment +with poor Loring Carmichael. + +After sending messages to George's relatives, and giving him a spirited +account of her experiences in London, describing the sights she had +seen, she continued as follows: + +'Do you remember that you used to call me "the most meddlesome of +girls"?--that year when I tried to reconcile my stepfather and his men. +Well, I am going to be meddlesome again, for I want, if God will let me, +to make peace between our two English uncles. Would you believe that +they are living in different houses in the same neighbourhood, and are +still estranged because of Loring's choice of a profession? Yet I can +see that they both desire to be friends again, if once their pride +could be overcome. Now that Loring is dead, Uncle Jack must partly +regret having persuaded him to be a soldier, and Uncle Ross should be +able to forgive the choice, especially as he has been chiefly to blame +for the strength to which this foolish family feud has attained. If you +can tell me anything, George, about Loring's death, since you, his +friend, were with him when he fell, I might be fortunate enough to +effect a reconciliation through their mutual interest in the news. Did +Loring send no messages to either uncle? Please let me know all you +know, for I, being on the spot, can perhaps make good use of the +knowledge.' + +This letter was also finished, and the envelope addressed and stamped, +before the breakfast bell sounded. + +Catherine ran downstairs, to find Ted and Toddie awaiting her in the +dining-room, two solemn-faced little people, wearing their best frocks, +and standing side by side, hand in hand, on the hearth-rug. + +'We've been _vewwy_ good, an' we're so tired wiv it,' announced Toddie, +with emphasis. + +'We didn't fink muvver was ever comin', nor you, nor bweakfast,' +explained Ted. 'Bweakfast comed first though, an' we didn't peep one bit +under the cover, did we, Toddie?' + +'No, but it's sausages, I fink, 'cause it smells like it.' + +'Then you comed next, dearie Carr, an' we won't have to be good no +longer.' + +Ted's face was roguish again, and he scrambled on to Catherine's knee as +she sat down in the arm-chair, while Toddie, regardless of her Sunday +dress, sank down in a happy heap on the rug at her feet. + +'Not good any more! Oh, Ted, you know I always want you to be good!' she +exclaimed, trying to preserve discipline. + +'Oh yes, of course!' cried the culprit, 'only the nurse says "Be vewwy +good children," when she just wants us not to cwumple our clothes. _You_ +don't do that. _You_ don't like us best when we're _stiff_, does you, +Carr?' + +'You mustn't spoil your nice clothes on purpose, Ted and Toddie, but +you--you needn't keep on remembering them. Why, they are sensibly-chosen +clothes, they will not easily take harm. Some poor little children are +always dressed in silks and satins, so grand that they are expected to +take great care of them, but your kind mamma likes you to be happy and +able to romp about.' + +'_Silks an' satins!_' repeated Toddie. 'Gwacious!--_wouldn't_ we cwumple +them all up!' + +Mrs. Arderne came into the room, and found the usual picture awaiting +her vision--Catherine and the babies laughing together, clinging +together, perfectly happy in their merriment. + +'Ah, chickies, plaguing "Carr" again. Catherine, dear, in a weak moment +yesterday I promised those infants that they should spend Sunday with +us, and come to church.' + +'We'll be _vewwy_ good.' + +'We'll twy dreffully hard not to laugh.' + +Catherine kissed them both as she lifted them comfortably on to their +chairs close to the table. + +'You must promise faithfully not to talk in church, children, not even +if there is a funny-looking old lady in front of you, or any naughty +little boys try to make you laugh at them.' + +'Not if there's anover lady who can't find her pocket, Carr?' + +'Or an old, old man wiv a spider cweeping up his back?' + +'Not for any reason at all. You must promise to try to remember all the +time that you are in church to please God, not to amuse yourselves.' + +'But we mustn't speak pwayers out loud.' + +'Muvver, you don't always 'member, _does_ you?' + +'I'se _sure_ muvver doesn't, 'cause once she laughed an' spoke to Carr +something about bonnets,' cried Toddie delightedly. + +'Now you are beginning to talk too much, and about matters you do not +properly understand,' said Miss Carmichael quickly. 'Say grace, and eat +your breakfasts, dears.' + +The mother and children, and the companion, sallied forth early to find +the village church. Ted and Toddie walked most demurely, one on either +side of Catherine, sometimes uttering their quaint criticisms of the +people and objects they passed, and proudly carrying their Prayer-books, +so that their own destination was plainly intimated to all persons +curious on the subject. + +'Won't look as though we was goin' no wicked walk,' explained Toddie. + +The church proved to be quite a long walk away. It was a beautiful old +grey brick building, wreathed and wrapped round by ivies of many +species, and stood, in the midst of its little graveyard, on the summit +of a hill. Two roads approached it from different sides of the country, +and there was also a much-used footpath leading from a vista of +park-like meadows to the vestry door. + +By this path came the clergyman, a venerable-looking gentleman, whom +Catherine guessed to be the Mr. Burnley of whom her uncles had told her +many years ago. + +Just as Catherine passed at the wicket-gate of the churchyard she became +aware of the approach of Mr. Ross Carmichael, who had just stepped out +of his carriage. It was a rare event for him to be seen in the precincts +of a church. The tall, straight old gentleman was dressed with his +accustomed care, from the glossy hat to the perfectly-fitting _Suede_ +gloves, and the white 'spats' over patent-leather boots. Catherine +noticed that his step was very firm, unlike that of Uncle Jack, who was +approaching from a greater distance, coming slowly uphill, beside +Agatha's wheel-chair, which Robert was pushing. The military uncle's +face had none of the deep lines which creased that of the business man, +yet he seemed the elder and less strong, and his moustache was quite as +silvery as was the other's short beard. + +Probably Uncle Ross was aware of the approach of Uncle Jack, for he +advanced quickly to greet his niece, who introduced him to Mrs. Arderne. + +'This is a pleasure. I trust you will add to it by helping to fill my +pew.' + +Now this invitation could not easily be refused, though Catherine +reflected regretfully that her other relative might object to her having +accepted it. Mrs. Arderne settled the question by answering gratefully: + +'That is exceedingly kind of you, Mr. Carmichael. It is sometimes so +difficult for strangers to find good seats in country churches. I only +hope that the children will do nothing to make you regret your +considerate offer.' + +Ted and Toddie were gazing in an awe-stricken manner up into the face of +the austere-looking, handsome old gentleman, who now shook hands +ceremoniously with them both. + +Uncle Jack and Agatha were nearly at the gate by this time. Uncle Ross, +after a glance over his shoulder, lingered outside the porch to ask: + +'Catherine, I am anxious for another talk with you. Can you come to see +me to-morrow? Will you be able to spare her, Mrs. Arderne?' + +'Oh, certainly.' + +'I will walk up in the afternoon then,' said the girl; adding, with a +laugh and a blush, 'and if by any happy chance Brian should run down +to-morrow to see me, may I bring him also?' + +'It will gratify me to make his acquaintance. Excuse my leading the way +into church.' + +Uncle Jack and Agatha were not more than twelve steps behind now, but +Catherine could not refuse to follow Uncle Ross through the porch and up +the aisle. Ted and Toddie peeped across her skirts at one another, and +murmured, '_Dwefful_!' + +'I will speak to Uncle Jack at all costs, even if I have to appear rude +to Uncle Ross, after service,' Catherine decided. + +She tried her utmost to forget her family quarrel, at least its +difficulties and perplexing incidents, while she listened to the sermon; +and endeavoured, as she prayed for God's help in her effort at +peace-making, not to be conscious of the reproachful glances which +Agatha, from her chair in a side aisle, was directing towards her. + +Afterwards, when the congregation had nearly dispersed, Uncle Jack and +Uncle Ross remained in church, each waiting for the other to move first. +Each happened to be resolved not to do so. Uncle Ross wished to prevent +Catherine from speaking to his brother. Uncle Jack was simply determined +to speak to her, as he and Agatha both desired to do so. + +At length, when the long wait was becoming ridiculous, and Ted and +Toddie were beginning to fidget, Mr. Ross Carmichael rose, and walking +with more than usual stiffness, led the way out of church. Immediately +the colonel marched out, too, down the side aisle. + +The groups joined in the porch, and passed into the open air together. + +Catherine saw the two old gentlemen exchange the stiffest of bows, but +her quick eyes noted also the restrained impulse of Uncle Jack's right +hand, and the wistful expression in the gaze with which he regarded his +brother, who was now bending courteously over Agatha's chair, inquiring +after her health. + +'I'm tired, and in pain, but then I always am,' said the child +fretfully. 'And I've had a lot of neuralgia lately; the air seems damp +and horrid down in the village, where _we_ live.' + +Uncle Ross murmured polite regrets, and after bowing to Mrs. Arderne, +and reminding his niece, 'I shall expect you to-morrow afternoon, then,' +turned away by the footpath across the fields. + +By this time Mrs. Arderne and the colonel were chatting together. + +Agatha beckoned to Catherine to come near, and whispered: + +'You ought to have sat in _our_ seat.' + +'No; if I have accepted a "home" from one uncle, surely I may accept the +occasional loan of a pew from the other? You must not be unreasonable, +dear, if you want me to try to effect a reconciliation; you must leave +me free to use my own methods.' + +'Horrid old man! and you are going to him to-morrow!' + +'Well, I am coming to you to-day. Mrs. Arderne has kindly promised to +spare me this evening.' + +'Come early, then, for I want some of you all to myself!' + +Ted and Toddie ran up to the side of the wheel-chair at this moment, and +scrutinized Agatha. + +'Can't you get up?' + +'No.' + +'Never mind, though,' said Toddie, anxious to be consoling. 'You look +vewwy nice, an' you must feel comfor'ble. I wish _we_ had sofas in +church. Carr wouldn't let us even kneel back'ards this mornin'.' + +''Cause of the stiff old man,' Ted explained. '_Your_ old man's ever so +much nicer!' + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +A Ray of Light + + +'I don't suppose she'll come at all, guardian. Everything turns out +disappointing. That Mrs. Arderne will keep her indoors, or she'll be +afraid to walk in the rain, or she'll forget all about me, or +those--those extraordinary children will coax her to stay with them.' + +Agatha had been fretting all the afternoon in this fashion, until she +had forced herself to believe her own dismal prophecies, and no words of +her guardian availed to comfort her. + +He was standing beside her couch now, holding her thin right hand in his +firm grasp, smilingly trying to persuade her to be more reasonable, and +to take the tea and hot buttered toast which Harriet had prepared with +so much care. + +The colonel was enveloped in a huge cloak, for he was going out to read +aloud at a Young Men's Club,--a habit of his on many Sunday evenings. + +'Catherine is true to her promises, I am certain of that, dear. She will +come to you if she possibly can.' + +'Very likely; but she is sure to be afraid of the weather. Just listen +to the wind and rain! It is a shame, when the morning was so lovely.' + +'God's weather, my little woman: that must be for the best.' + +'Oh, _bother_!' was the rude answer, and Agatha turned her head away +from her best friend. + +The colonel did not take offence. He was grieved by her rebellion +against God far more than by her impertinence to himself; and he was +sufficiently humble to recollect how short a time it was since he had +learned to trust the All-Father, saying in his thoughts, 'If I, a grown +man, could be both ignorant and stubborn-willed, how dare I be shocked +by this invalid child's foolishness?' + +So, instead of scolding, he slipped an arm under Agatha's shoulders to +raise her up, that she might take her tea before he was obliged to leave +her. + +'If Catherine comes, you will need strength to entertain her cheerfully. +Be brave and good, dear.' + +Agatha longed to push the cup away from her, but his patient kindness +prevailed over her cross mood. + +'I'm a savage little beast. Guardian, I'm--I'm sorry!' + +'There's a dear girl! No doubt pain is very bad to bear.' + +'I haven't any pain now--only in my temper. But I don't pretend to be +_religiously_ sorry, you know; I don't want to be bad to you--that's +all.' + +'Your Father in heaven loves you better than I, your adopted father on +earth, can do.' + +'You only love me out of duty. It must be that, because I'm not a bit +nice; so probably my Father in heaven gave me up long ago!' + +'Agatha, my darling, do you not know better than that?' + +'Better than _which_, guardian? better than to doubt God's love or +yours?' she asked, smiling through tears that seemed to burn her weary +eyes. + +'I might answer truthfully, "Both"; but if you cannot trust in my love, +you should be able to lean confidently upon the love of your Maker.' + +'Are you _really_ fond of me? Would you be sorry if I were to die?' + +Colonel Jack looked his ward gravely in the face, his eyes filled with +sincerity. He was a man of action, not of words, so he made no lengthy +protestations, only saying with heartfelt fervour: + +'I love you, for your own sake and that of my old friend, your father; +and I should be lonely without you.' + +Agatha gazed at him in silence for a minute or two, studying the +sincerity of his eyes, which had so often looked at death calmly. Then +she pressed her lips to his hand, and cried: + +'I'm happier now, then! It's dreadful to think that no one does. +Perhaps--I mean, I'll believe God does.' + +'"Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his +friends,"' quoted the colonel reverently. + +'Guardian, you are always repeating that. I believe it's the only text +you know by heart!' + +Seeing Agatha's natural expression come again to her face--the teasing, +audacious, little smile he knew so well--he was contented. + +'It is the best I _could_ remember, little woman. Now, promise me you +will not fret any more to-night, while I am away. Catherine will come to +you, unless she is unavoidably prevented.' + +'I'll try to be reasonable. It would be much nicer if you could stay +with me till she comes, though. There's something very odd about +persuading young men and boys to go to a club on Sunday evenings, just +to hear reading, when they could quite well go to church.' + +'None are allowed in but those who have been to church in the morning, +and Mr. Burnley tells me that many go to service (who used never to be +seen in church before), just that they may be entitled to join our +Sunday evening circle. We read interesting books to them, and sometimes +there are recitations of poems,--it is not surprising how many great +literary works there are which raise the heart and mind to God. Then we +always begin and end with prayer. It is not a bad service itself, +Agatha; and the young fellows would not go to church twice a day--they +would probably spend their evenings in gambling and drinking, or in the +company of street loafers. Beverbridge has its bad characters.' + +'Now, why is it that you never address meetings of the club?' asked his +ward mischievously. 'That was quite a speech!' + +He laughed. + +'_I_ speak? My courage fails me even when I begin to read aloud! No, no, +that is not the kind of action for which my poor powers are suitable.... +Now, good-bye, my dear. Keep a brave heart until Catherine comes. Be +God's plucky little soldier!' + +Only half an hour later Agatha was nestling her face against Catherine +Carmichael's shoulder, smiling up at her radiantly. They were talking of +Agatha's own life,--its trials, pleasures, wants, and blessings. + +'Oh, you can't guess how badly I've wanted a girl-friend, some one to +tell everything to! I used to dream about you, when you were out in +Australia, and I nearly began to write long letters to you.' + +'I wish you had written.' + +'You couldn't have known what I was like. I should have hated you to +think me nice, and then to have come to England and been disappointed. +It's best as it is. Help me, Cath; _do_ help me! What am I to do to be +nicer?' + +'Leave off thinking so much about yourself.' + +'Why? I ought to meditate continually upon my faults, ought I not? +People have told me so.' + +'That is a morbid idea of religion and duty, dear. Be as sorry as +possible for your sins, but spare time to meditate upon God's mercy and +goodness, otherwise how can you learn to love Him? Then again, by +thinking always of your faults, you grow into a spiritual hypochondriac. +How ill a person would feel who spent all his time in considering the +exact strength and nature of every small pain or weariness! No, no, +Agatha; to be healthily religious, you must trust in God a great deal +more, and, in remembering Him, forget yourself!' + +'It must be much easier for you, Catherine,' said the little girl +wistfully, 'for _you_ never feel too ill to do anything but be cross, do +you?' + +'No, dear. But there will be a wonderful reward due to you in heaven, +if, in spite of your bodily weakness, you serve the Father bravely. Tell +Him your difficulties; speak to Him quite simply, at all hours, out of +the fulness of your heart, and He will understand. You will learn to +feel sure of His presence near you; you will love to bear pain +patiently, to please Him, and in remembrance of the agony He chose for +His portion in order that we, His rebellious servants, might be +eternally happy. Once you have learned this lesson, you will never feel +lonely any more.' + +Catherine's face was glorified by the light of the peace of which she +was speaking, that peace which truly passeth understanding! Perhaps +Agatha learned more by watching her friend's face than even by listening +to her words. Certainly she was both convinced and comforted. + +'Catherine, I'll try.' + +The promise (for as a promise the words were spoken) came slowly, +earnestly, eagerly from the child's lips. Then, laying her head on her +friend's shoulder, she went on to say: + +'It won't be easy, I know that; and it means never trying to please +myself only, never speaking angrily just to make other people angry, +never calling Uncle Ross our enemy and trying to hate him, never.... Oh +yes, it _will_ be difficult! Only now I seem to understand, as I never +did before, that it isn't only people who want to be extra good, but +it's _every one_ who ought to serve God _thoroughly_. Do you know what I +mean?' + +'Yes, dear. It is very common for persons to say or think, "_I_ needn't +devote my whole efforts to serving God. _I_ shall be all right, so long +as I do not sin in great matters." But that is a form of ignorance. +Directly such a person is asked, "Why were you created?" "Are you +fulfilling the Creator's purpose?" there is no answer forthcoming, +except an admission of failure. Now we all of us despise failures that +are the result of idleness; so how can we expect God, at the last +judgment, to reward us for failing through our ill-will and +slothfulness?' + +'It all seems quite plain, when you talk of religion.' + +Catherine's gentle hands were stroking Agatha's hot forehead, passing +and repassing over her eyes with a soft touch which was very soothing. + +'My mother taught me all these truths, and I have never forgotten them,' +she answered. 'So you are going to give God your whole heart?' + +'I'll begin this very evening, and I shall write down the promise, in +cypher, in my diary, that I mayn't ever be able to forget for long. +Cath, if I were to die now ... should I go to hell?' + +'If _you_ had a servant who had neglected his duty, but who was honestly +sorry, and promised you that he would never wilfully sin against you +again, would you wish to condemn him to eternal misery? Oh, childie, +when you doubt God's mercy, you do Him a terrible injustice, for He is +many million times more generous than the greatest and best of His +creatures can ever become.' + +'Oh, Catherine, you _are_ beautiful!' + +'Why, what sudden nonsense is this, my pet?' was the amused question. + +'I was watching you. Does Mr. North love you very, _very_ much? He ought +to.' + +Blushes stole over the face that had been praised. + +'He loves me a great deal more than I deserve.' + +'I made guardian tell me all you told him. You don't mind my knowing, do +you?' + +'Of course not. It will be nice to be able to talk and write of him to +you, little one, for there was no one to sympathise with my romance +until I found you and Uncle Jack.... Brian _may_ come down to see me +to-morrow, but I am trying not to hope too much, or else I shall feel +dismal if a disappointment follows. Still, he hasn't telegraphed yet, +nor written for two whole days, so I think he must be coming.' + +'If he does, you will bring him here?' asked Agatha excitedly. + +Catherine nodded. + +'I am simply longing to show him to Uncle Jack; they are sure to love +one another. In the afternoon I have agreed to go to see Uncle Ross, and +to take Brian with me, if possible.... Now, Agatha! What a dreadful +frown!' + +'It's gone, now, and I know you are quite right and wise, Cath. Please +go on with what you were going to say.' + +'But I shall insist upon leaving Carm Hall in time to spend the evening +here. I shall say you have invited me to supper. That will be true, +won't it?' + +'Yes, yes, and Harriet shall lay the cloth and make the table look very +nice, before she goes out for her "evening." Ah, Cath, you have made me +happy!' + +'God bless you, darling! He will teach you to be a great deal happier +yet, I hope.' + +When the colonel returned from his work at the club he heard Agatha's +laughter resounding through the cottage,--a sound that was strange +indeed. The girls were neither of them in the least tired of their +_tete-a-tete_, yet they gladly welcomed him and soon the three were +chatting as gaily as two had done. + +Before Catherine went home she shared in the evening prayer at Redan +Cottage, and heard the colonel's voice falter as he offered up one +special petition for the 'welfare, spiritual and temporal, of all +relatives and friends.' + +No wonder that the girl's heart was filled with rejoicing as she walked +back to Woodley Villa! She had been able to comfort poor little Agatha, +and had persuaded her to serve God. And there was still plenty of work +to be done, a beautiful reconciliation to effect, if God would give her +grace and aid sufficient. + +Not for an instant did she count up the gains that might accrue to +herself from this peace-making. Her intentions were pure and unselfish. + +Little world-loving Mrs. Arderne would have marvelled again, had she +been able to read her companion's heart to-night. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +The Coming of Catherine's Betrothed + + +By ten o'clock on Monday morning Brian North had earned a holiday. He +had been up and working since the small hours, but instead of going back +to his lodgings to rest, he hurried to a station and took train for +Beverbridge. Catherine's letter had been brought to him, and had made a +precious interlude to his occupation. Generally he was as busy in the +evening as in the morning, but his other occupation had been taken away +from him,--a loss which he was obliged to regret, although it had +obtained him an opportunity for a few days' holiday in the neighbourhood +of Catherine Carmichael. + +Had she been in London, Brian would have remained there, too; so when +the landscape began to be green, and the buildings few, and the sky +showed a clear expanse above, his spirits revived with his gratitude for +the fact that his dear girl was in the country. The fresh pure air +strengthened him already. + +Beverbridge was a long journey from town, but he found time pass +pleasantly, as he leaned back close to the open window, and let his +thoughts rove over the subject of Catherine's perfections. There would +be need to ponder over the question how to gain some new work, how +secure a prize in an overcrowded amphitheatre, since his marriage would +be delayed until he could earn not only a sufficient income to provide a +home, but also a small sum 'laid by' as provision for 'rainy days.' + +Brian was resolved not to persuade Catherine to make an improvident +marriage; he had seen much misery resulting from such folly, and his +love for her was deep enough to make his plans unselfish. + +There was a smile on his lips as he sat thinking, alone in the railway +carriage--the smile which thoughts of Catherine always created. Tired, +disappointed, harassed though he was, his life was blessed by a great +happiness, and but for the fear of being guilty of hypocrisy, he would +have thanked God for it. + +These were the doubts which prompted the fear: 'Was he not supposed to +be resigned to any possible manifestation of God's will? Without this +resignation would not gratitude be guilty of mockery, since the Creator +possessed undoubtedly the right to take, as well as to give? How could +he honestly thank God for the gift of Catherine, if he were not prepared +also to acknowledge God's right to take Catherine from him? + +It may be thought that Brian was too sincere with himself in this +matter. The girl he loved was strong and healthy, and likely, humanly +speaking, to live to a good old age. But he was essentially thorough, +and now that he was groping after the light, he was anxious to invite it +to shine into every corner of his heart. He had already perceived that +religion must be all or nothing, a sham or a whole, so that he could not +rest content with any reservations. + +If he was to love God, then to the Creator must be given more love than +to the creature. Human tenderness and sympathy do not enter into the +devotion that a soul must cherish for its Maker. He was not so foolish +as to expect to feel the same impulses of longing for a vision of God, +for instance, as it was natural for him to feel for the presence of +Catherine; but he was not able yet to give the love which is commanded, +the perfect acknowledgment of God as Author of all good, the resignation +of praying 'Thy will be done,' of owning 'Thy will must be best,' and +the confidence of leaving the future entirely, gladly, in God's care. + +Brian often worried about the future. His health suffered from the +feverish manner in which he pursued Fortune--all for Catherine's sake. +As a youth he had fretted for fame; now he spent his life in restlessly +striving after money and a secured position. + +His pale, lined face, the grey hairs threading the dark curls over his +temples, and his sunken eager eyes, proclaimed his want of peace. + +There was no one but a porter in the little Beverbridge station when +Brian arrived. Just as he was calling the man to take charge of his bag, +and to direct him to a respectable inn, he chanced to look up at the +bridge which spanned the rail. A tall girl standing, holding a little +boy in her arms--Catherine herself! + +Lovers' eyes are seldom deceived in such cases. Catherine, out for a +walk with Ted and Toddie, had brought them within the precincts of the +railway, not only because the small folks delighted in the sight of 'a +big puffing engine,' but also because there was a possibility that Brian +might come down to-day by the London express. + +Her beaming smile as she gazed down at him over the parapet of the +bridge was the cause of sympathetic beams upon his face. + +'That gentleman is--a great friend of mine, Ted and Toddie!' she cried +exultantly. + +'How nice!' said Ted. 'He _must_ be nice if _you_ like him, Carr.' + +'He's comin' up. Oh, poor, poor man! Is he ill, Carr?' + +'No, dears, only hard-worked; and he lives in smoky dark London.' + +By this time Brian had mounted the steps and emerged through the doorway +on to the bridge. + +Catherine had put down the child, so she put both her hands into +Brian's, and so they stood for a few minutes, smiling, silent, looking +into one another's eyes, in delicious contentment at having met once +more. + +Then the woman's practical mind read the significance of the presence of +a bag. + +'You are come, and you haven't got to go away again yet!' + +'I may spend three days in Beverbridge, dear.' + +'God is good!' was Catherine's simple answer. + +'_I'm_ Ted Arderne,' announced a little voice. + +'And I'm Toddie,' said another. + +Brian responded warmly to the children's greeting, gave Ted his umbrella +to play with, and made Toddie laugh at the energy with which he +shouldered his bag. Together they went along the quiet country road and +through the pretty village, Brian delighting in the autumnal crispness +of the wind and in the beauty of the unpretentious scenery. + +'Did you expect me, Catherine?' he asked. + +'I only hoped for you.' + +Mrs. Arderne welcomed Brian most kindly. True, she did not think that in +becoming engaged to him Catherine had acted wisely, but her womanly +instinct was aroused to take benevolent interest in a love affair. She +could not help being prepossessed in Brian's favour by the first glimpse +of his expressive, clever-looking, worn face. And the manner in which +she showed her kindness was the best evidence she could have given of +her sympathy. + +'I will take care of the children,' she said. 'You and Mr. North can +have a quiet half-hour in the garden before lunch. You must have reams +to say to each other.' + +So Catherine led him out, and they strolled up and down the narrow +gravel paths, under the gnarled branches of venerable apple trees, in +and out among the flower beds, and past the vegetables. Then he began to +tell her about his troubles. + +'You are much poorer, then, than you were?' she said quickly, glancing +at his face. 'And I might have helped you--I mean, I might have schemed +to gain a fortune--and I won't even try to do so. Brian, tell me all +that is in your heart now, all the thoughts that came to you when you +read my long letter.' + +'I love and admire my dear brave girl more than ever. When I had read +her letter all through, I told myself that she was a woman in a +thousand, that it was a privilege indeed to be allowed to work for her. +Then, if you want a complete account, I smiled over the description of +Uncles Ross and Jack, and reflected, "What a first-rate old chap the +colonel must be!"' + +'Did you? I'm glad. You must love him. And you do not in the very least +wee bit blame me for having accepted the home he offered me?' + +'No, Catherine; I would have you happy and free to follow your own +ideal. We should neither of us know much happiness, my dear one, if we +were a rich relative's pensioners, obliged to humour all his whims, and +keep silent when we disapproved of his practices.' + +'You are--just the Brian I knew you were!' she exclaimed gratefully. + +'Only poorer.' + +'A new post will be found some day. Meanwhile you will have a +badly-needed rest!' + +'The literary labour-market is fearfully overcrowded, Catherine. I doubt +if I shall obtain more employment,--not before Christmas, at all events. +Every week of idleness postpones our wedding day.' + +'God will help us, even in worldly matters, if we ask Him to, and if we +trust Him, dearest. Tell me, have you _thought_, as you promised to +think? Have you studied your Bible? Have you prayed for faith?' + +'Yes, to all three questions. I do believe, but my new faith is not +strong enough to stand some tests I have put it to--one test +especially.' + +'What is it?' + +'If God took you away from me, Cath, I could not forgive Him.' + +'Yet God gave me to you. But for His will we should never have crossed +one another's paths, never loved one another.' + +'That truth would in no way minimise the loss we are supposing.' + +'If I were to die, you would not wish that we had never loved one +another?' + +'No, no!' + +'Then, by your own admission, God would have conferred a boon upon you, +even if He had done that which, in thought, appals you.' + +'The apparent cruelty of His will would not be less.' + +'You are not rebellious now because we are parted for weeks together, +Brian.' + +'Because I am hoping for a time when we shall be always together, +dearest.' + +She smiled radiantly. + +'Ah! you have answered your own doubt! _Life_ is only as a day compared +with eternity. What though God, for some wise and good purpose, were to +part us on earth! has He not promised an everlasting home of perfect +happiness after life? Oh, dear boy, let us praise Him every hour for the +gift of love He has generously bestowed on us. Don't let us use His gift +to deny Him! Besides, it is wrong for a weak human creature to consider +persistently and hopelessly all the possible sorrows of his future. God +has promised not to fail us, to send us grace sufficient for the +differing needs of every crisis. We can't expect to be brave _in +advance_, but we must trust Him to give us our "daily bread."' + +'You mean that if God takes you from me some day, He will give me +strength to bear the blow?' + +'Yes, dear; that is certain.' + +'And I am no hypocrite if I thank Him for a gift which I cannot yet bear +the thought of His recalling?' + +'Not if you try honestly to pray, as He taught us, "Thy will be done." +That does not mean that you think yourself ready, unaided, to bear the +blow, only that you admit His right to do as He pleases with His own +creations, and that you believe His will to be designed for our highest +welfare.' + +Brian sighed, as a man does from whom a great trouble has departed. + +'I will believe that God is good, therefore that He is merciful to the +weakness of His servants. My faith grows stronger when you teach me, +Catherine.' + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +An Important Offer + + +Mrs. Arderne had kindly invited Brian North to stay to lunch, as he and +Catherine were to go to Carm Hall early that afternoon. + +'On your return from the visit to Mr. Carmichael you can take your bag +and find an inn,' she suggested. + +During the meal she occupied herself in studying Brian, 'drawing him +out,' by artful questions on literary and other matters. While quite +aware of her scrutiny and purpose, he allowed himself to gratify her +curiosity as much as possible, acknowledging tacitly her right as +Catherine's friend to be anxious lest Catherine's lover should prove a +simpleton or a cad! + +Brian was keenly amused. Not being a very young man, he was free from +self-consciousness under the investigation, and was able to repay study +by study. Vivacious, worldly little Mrs. Arderne, with her contradictory +feelings towards Catherine's lover--half desirous of agreeing with +Catherine's choice, yet disappointed because Catherine had been 'so +romantic' as to accept a penniless suitor--was a charmingly inconsistent +character for the writer to consider. + +The result of this mutual interest was naturally twofold. Brian decided +that he was glad Catherine possessed so true-hearted a friend, and Mrs. +Arderne came to the conclusion that Brian was a man of delightful +manners, brilliant wit, good breeding, and undoubted talents--a fit +husband for Catherine in every way but that of fortune! + +Lunch over, Ted and Toddie came down to be played with as usual, and +immediately insisted upon questioning Mr. North at great length as to +where he lived, and why he lived there, what he did all day long, and +why he did it, etc., etc. By his answers he gave purposely an accurate +account of his circumstances,--more for the information of Mrs. Arderne +than to please her children. + +'I write for papers--sometimes all night long, while you little people +are comfortably sleeping,' he said, laughingly lifting them on to his +knees. 'It is tiring work, and I can't say I'm fond of doing it; I +should like to sit at home and write about things that interest me--to +make books, you know. Only people are not paid for doing the things that +amuse them, and if I did not work for money I shouldn't ever have any +jam to eat with my bread and butter. I really doubt if I should have +even the bread without the butter!' + +Ted and Toddie stared solemnly at him. + +'It's _your_ lessons. We don't get money at all for doing ours, though.' + +'For shame, Ted!' cried Catherine. 'You get prizes when you are good, +industrious children, and your work is not worth money yet. Some day, +when you are quite grown up, you will be able to earn payment, as Mr. +North does, but only if you learn well while you are young.' + +'Did _you_ learn well when you were six?' asked Toddie, anxiously +peering into his face. + +'I am not quite certain, dear, but I was always very fond of reading.' + +'And I say, are you working for prizes too, as we are?' + +Brian glanced smilingly at Catherine, who blushed radiantly as he +answered: + +'Yes, Ted, for a prize that is very beautiful; but I cannot stay to tell +you now what the prize is, because I am going out with Miss Carmichael +this afternoon.' + +'Carr, you'll tell us all about it to-night, won't you?' + +''Bout Mr. North's prize!' added Toddie. + +An interruption occurred at this moment. A servant brought in a note for +Catherine, and explained that Mr. Carmichael's carriage had come for +her. + +The letter was as follows: + + 'CARM HALL. + + 'MY DEAR NIECE,-- + + 'I hope you will give me as much of your society as possible to-day + (bringing Mr. North with you, if he has arrived yet in + Beverbridge); but apart from this desire of mine, pray keep the + carriage waiting as long as suits your convenience. + + 'Believe me to be, + + 'Your affectionate uncle, + + 'ROSS CARMICHAEL.' + +'Oh, good-bye to our nice walk!' sighed the girl mischievously, as she +handed the note to Brian. 'A closed carriage too! I see it through the +window! And this is such a lovely autumn day! Dear old uncle, I ought to +be ashamed of my grumbles, though, for he meant to show me a most +considerate attention!' + +Brian laughed, as he answered: + +'The walk is a loss, certainly, but by driving we shall be able to spend +a longer time at Carm Hall, and I am anxious to make the acquaintance of +your relatives.' + +'Mr. Carmichael is a charming old gentleman,' said Mrs. Arderne. + +'And what is Colonel Carmichael, please, ma'am?' + +'My darling girl, don't question me in that impertinent fashion. My +admiration for your elder uncle does not make me blind to the charm of +the younger.' + +'Uncle Jack impressed you favourably, I am certain, though you saw so +little of him!' + +'Mr. North, do you mean to allow Catherine to obstinately insist upon +offending Mr. Ross Carmichael?' + +Brian looked from the interrogator to Catherine's demurely smiling face, +then back again. + +'If I wished Catherine to be worldly-wise, Mrs. Arderne, I should be +wishing her to give me up.' + +'No, not necessarily,' cried the kind little woman, anxious to make +amends for having reminded him of his poverty. 'If Mr. Ross takes a +fancy to you, he might--do anything for you both. He is already much +attached to his niece. It is only her obstinate choice of a home with +Uncle Jack that stands in the way of her heiress-ship!' + +'While Catherine sees a work awaiting her, she will become happy only by +doing it. I would rather she should be happy than rich.' + +'Then _you_ believe in her possession of a serious vocation to convert +the inhabitants of Redan Cottage?' + +'I always believe in a woman's vocation to do that good which she +clearly sees ought to be done, and for which her gifts and sympathies +fit her,' he answered gravely. + +'Oh, Brian, thank you!' the girl cried gratefully. + +'I thought that only Catherine was quixotic and imprudent, but now I see +that you are both in the conspiracy to ruin your prospects!' was Mrs. +Arderne's regretful reply. 'At least you need not let Uncle Ross's +horses catch their deaths of cold! Go and get ready, Catherine, foolish +child!' + +As they were driven along the well-kept country road leading to Carm +Hall, Catherine and Brian talked of their 'prospects' almost as +practically as Mrs. Arderne could have done, but they were the prospects +of finding work for him, not an heiress-ship for her! And to an +irreligious or God-forgetting person their trust in the efficacy of +asking heavenly aid would, no doubt, have seemed childish. They were +content, however, because now they both believed that God would provide +for the necessities of those who turned to Him in faith. + +It was Mr. Carmichael's footman, not his personal attendant, James, who +opened the door of Carm Hall to them, and they were ushered into the +large drawing-room, where the master of the house was awaiting them. + +'Uncle Ross, I have brought Brian, you see!' + +'I am glad to make your acquaintance, Mr. North.' + +These were the first words spoken. + +Some time elapsed before the trio could shake off the strangeness of +their meeting; even the elderly man was conscious of a feeling of +awkwardness. Brian, who had come to be inspected, was perhaps most at +ease. It was due, chiefly, to his adroit management of the situation +that conversation became more confidential before long. + +In speaking of some news of the day, he alluded to the opinion advocated +on the subject by the paper for which he had formerly worked, and +expressed his regret at having lost his employment. + +'For, as you know, sir, I am a very poor man, with the best possible +reason for desiring success in my profession.' + +'Catherine says you are a hard worker when work is ready for you to do,' +said Mr. Carmichael. + +'It would be strange if I were not, since our home depends upon my +industry,' answered Brian, with a smile. 'We have been making each other +very hopeful--haven't we, Catherine?--by deciding that work usually +comes to those who are anxious and _able_ to do it.' + +'Work, perhaps--though personally I doubt your optimistic theory--but +not always the kind of work desired.' + +'It would only be a question of capability with me. I would do any +honourable remunerative task.' + +Uncle Ross began to question Brian closely as to the writing he had +done, and the extent of his literary and journalistic experience, and +the talk became animated, interspersed with anecdotes of celebrated +literature, and keen, clever expressions of opinion by the younger man. + +Catherine sat silent, listening and taking pride in her lover. That +Uncle Ross was pleased was evident. + +It was after tea--over which Catherine presided--that a chance question +brought discord among them. Mr. Carmichael asked their plans. + +Was Mr. North staying long in Beverbridge? and how much of his time was +already allotted? + +'None, except this evening, when I believe I am to have the pleasure of +making your brother's acquaintance,' answered Brian. + +The frown, almost habitual, but which had been invisible during the last +hour, returned to the squire's brow. + +'I regret that my niece continues to court the favour of those +persons--I should say of the person--who has wronged me.' + +'It was an involuntary wrong; Uncle Jack desires nothing so much as to +have his share in the quarrel forgiven him!' + +'When trust has been once broken, trust can never again be established. +Catherine, I wish you to be happy; Mr. North, I hope to make you an +offer which you will be able to accept without loss of independence; but +I do require from you both some practical evidence of your +consideration.' + +'But, uncle dear, I have been offered a home at Redan Cottage, and +though I do not mean to give up my situation as Mrs. Arderne's +companion, I have promised always to regard Uncle Jack's home as my +own.' + +'You have done this in defiance of my objection?' + +'Agatha wants me, poor lonely little soul! and from whom but an uncle +could I accept a shelter?' + +'True. I regret that my offer was not made first. However, all that is +necessary now is that you should inform--the--the other uncle that you +are obliged, for Mr. North's sake, to withdraw your acceptance of the +home.' + +'Why "for Mr. North's sake"?' asked the girl, going at once to the root +of the matter. Uncle Ross knew that this inducement was the strongest he +could offer, and she, by her question, admitted as much. + +'I will tell you my plan,' said Mr. Carmichael, 'though I had intended +waiting for a day or two, until Mr. North and I had begun to understand +one another more. It is this. I purchase the paper known as _The +Circle_, and become sole proprietor. It is in the market, and is as safe +an investment as any I know. Then I offer Mr. North the editorship, with +a yearly increasing share in the profits. At my death he shall become +proprietor in my stead. The sole return I require from either of you is +a reasonable amount of companionship--say a frequent Saturday to Monday +visit, as the paper is a weekly one, and occasional longer stays here at +Carm Hall--with a cessation of your visits to the brother who has +injured me. In the interests of peace and goodwill, I would sanction a +meeting between you and him at Christmastide.' + +While the squire had been speaking he had watched the faces of his +auditors, had noted and apprised the strength of glad surprise, of +gratitude, of hope, of disappointment, of disapproval. He could scarcely +believe that his offer would be refused, yet he saw how trustfully Brian +turned towards Catherine, leaving her to answer, and how brave was the +determination in Catherine's eyes. + +'Uncle, your offer of help is a very large one, and we both thank you +for it; but I cannot, even for Brian's sake, break my word to Uncle +Jack, who was the first to offer me a home, and to Agatha, who wants me. +Neither could I enter upon a share in the quarrel, taking your part in +it, since I believe that, though Uncle Jack may have acted imprudently, +he never meant to make Loring turn against you. I think that you might +hold out a hand to him. He would be so glad, for he frets over your +estrangement, and prays for you every day.' + +'My dear niece, even a young and charming woman is not entitled to give +advice to her elders. On my part, I advise you not to let mere sentiment +stand in the way of your future husband's advancement in life.' + +'I could not be so much indebted to you while I blame you in my heart. +Oh, uncle, if a young woman ought not to judge her elders, when she is +called upon to decide between them, she is obliged to consider what is +her duty! My choice was declared when Uncle Jack made to me the best +offer in his power, and Brian will not wish me to break my word to him, +to agree to behave towards him as though I possessed one tithe less of +the respect, love and admiration I have always felt for him!' + +Brian responded to this appeal gravely and resolutely. + +'While regretting the necessity to refuse so generous an offer, I think +Catherine is quite right. This family quarrel exists through no fault of +ours, so maybe it is not fair that we should suffer through it; but as +we have to choose a side in it, we are bound in honour to make the +choice in sympathy with our honest opinion of the right, not letting +ourselves be influenced by the gain or loss of any worldly advantage. In +Catherine's name, as well as in my own, sir, I express a hope that our +being unable to accept favours from you will not prevent our owning your +friendship.' + +The squire turned abruptly aside and crossed the room to the window, +where he stood for a few minutes gazing out. Land, houses, wealth, +position, ease,--all these things had been scorned once by young Loring +Carmichael; now they were once again refused by Catherine and her poor +journalist lover. Yet the squire had spent his lifetime in amassing +these goods,--had made great sacrifices for them, had toiled feverishly +in his youth, and plodded through his best years of manhood,--had +believed that wealth rules the world, and is the chief power over men +and women. This second blow was a hard one, but he was too proud a man +to wish to show chagrin. + +As he returned from the window he replied to Brian. + +'You must forgive me if I think you foolish. Having made you an offer, +for which you have been good enough to express gratitude, it would be +unreasonable were I to quarrel with you for refusing it. Your peculiarly +delicate conscience will interfere with your chances in life, I fancy; +but argument with an obstinate man is worse than useless.' + +Catherine approached him, and clasped his right arm with her two hands, +crying pleadingly: + +'Uncle, say you forgive me for refusing. I don't want to lose your +affection. I told you the other day that I sought you out for the sake +of your old kindness to me, with no idea that a penniless niece might be +helped by your money.' + +The ring of truth in her voice touched the old man's heart, making him +yet more regret her refusal of his offer. Here was honesty shining +behind those frank brown eyes, and he half repented having hedged his +plan round with conditions. But obstinacy, the fault of his old age, +prevented him from withdrawing one of his former words. + +'I forgive you, Catherine. I trust you may not suffer much through your +folly,' was his sole answer. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +The Unexpected Happens + + +Catherine's choice had been finally made, approved by Brian and +declared. They decided that there was no need to tell Uncle Jack of the +offer Uncle Ross had made them, not unless he were to question them in +such a manner that truth would be sacrificed by silence. And this did +not happen. The colonel was anxious to be assured that his brother would +not quarrel with them on account of Catherine's promise to regard Redan +Cottage as home, and when he was gratified by receiving this assurance +he believed that all was well. + +'Uncle Ross has forgiven me. I shall go to see him sometimes, just as I +have been doing,' she said. + +Those were delightful days during which Brian remained in Beverbridge. +Not only did Mrs. Arderne kindly invite him a great deal to her house, +but she allowed her companion so much liberty that the young people were +almost constantly in one another's company. + +'I'm afraid I haven't been of much service to you lately!' the girl +exclaimed penitently, when Brian had returned to town. + +'Nonsense, my dear!' was the little lady's prompt answer. 'You simply +obeyed my wishes, which happened to coincide with your own. I derived a +great deal of entertainment as well as pleasure from observing you and +your lover. Good gracious, what a weary-looking, thin fellow he is! But +his holiday did him good, and his face was rapidly gaining a peaceful +expression, which I hope it won't lose directly he sets to work again.' + +'Oh no, that expression has come to stay!' Catherine replied, with a +happy smile. + +'What do you mean, you perplexing young woman? How can you possibly +tell? Your Brian will begin to overwork himself again just as soon as he +gets an opportunity. And unless he does, thanks to your united folly, +you will never be able to get married.' + +'Brian's peace doesn't come from any cause that can be taken away from +him, dear Mrs. Arderne. Not even great fatigue, nor a breakdown in +health could rob him of it.' + +'Religion again, Catherine!' + +'Yes; trust in God. Oh, I wish you would rejoice with me over Brian's +new knowledge! I wish you would understand what true happiness is, you +dearest of employers!' + +Mrs. Arderne kissed the speaker, but shook her head. + +'I've not a religious mind, Catherine. It refuses to concern itself +chiefly with spiritual matters. The unseen thing called faith was always +a mystery to me. Of course, God must exist, since we do, and the earth +must have been made by Him; but if He wants us to love Him, He should +manifest Himself to us.' + +'So He does, in wonderful ways to those who seek Him. You would not have +Him speak intimately to persons who will not listen for His voice? In +countless mysteries He is always proving His power, in the things He has +created; but human beings turn away their eyes from the evidences of His +power and their own helplessness. Directly a soul begins to grope after +the light, light comes in plenty. It is those souls which do not wish +for faith which remain desolate for want of it!' + +'No wonder, say I, that some do not wish for it, since its possession +seems to entail upon them such extremes of self-sacrifice.' + +Catherine pondered this remark, Mrs. Arderne watching her face +meanwhile, and admiring the grace of her bended neck and the sweetness +of her smile. + +'Do you know, dear friend, I think all the better parts of ourselves are +in great sympathy with self-sacrifice' (this was the outcome of her +reflections), 'since love is the greatest joy we know, and love means +preferring another's happiness to our own. If a man loves a comrade, he +will go into dangers for his sake; if a woman loves her husband, even if +he be unkind to her, she will spend her life in trying to make his +happiness, and in shielding him from blame; and what will not some +mothers give up for the sake of their children? This seems to me to be +the truth of the matter--that self-sacrifice becomes happiness when it +is founded upon sufficient love. No doubt happiness follows any +renunciation for the sake of duty; but the other is the more human point +of view.' + +'And what lesson do you deduce from that truth, Catherine?' Mrs. Arderne +was interested in the study of her companion's opinions. + +'That love of God makes sweet and easy every sacrifice made for Him. +Christ, the great Model of self-renunciation, appeals for sympathy to +the better self within each one of us--which was created in us--the +breath of God in man. And it is only those who let God live within the +soul, who do not hinder His work, who desire His guidance and control, +who feel strong enough to be happy in a life which is all uncertainty. +The luckiest man in all the world may be destined for overwhelming +misery and pain to-morrow; it is only the man whose happiness consists +in obedience to God's will, and in hope for an eternity cf perfect joy, +whose peace neither fear nor suffering _can_ overwhelm!' + +'It is a pity that we do not have female clergy, my dear. If we did, you +might become a popular preacher.' + +'Oh, you are laughing at me! Am I too fond of talking about my opinions? +I was only trying my best to answer the questions you asked me.' + +'Yes, I know. I like to listen to you, though I wish you were less +convincing. My own life always looks a poor, dreary, selfish one, filled +with perils I've no courage to face, and my longing to be braver always +frets me, after I have heard some of your sermonettes, child. If great +misery or suffering were to overwhelm me to-morrow, I don't know what I +should do!' + +'You would lay your burden upon the Saviour, would you not, you +darling?' + +'How could I, after ignoring His existence so long as my life was +placid. Certainly He must be generous, or He would send trials at once +to test me, and to prove His power.' + +'If He did, it would only be in His mercy, in order to expose you to the +influence without which you will not seek the only lasting happiness.' + +Mrs. Arderne sighed. + +'I _will_ turn over a new leaf; you shall help me, dear. I have been +very much worried of late, because my husband wants me to rejoin him +soon in India, and I don't want to go out there. My babes must stay in +England. I will not have their health injured, perhaps permanently, by +my selfish longing to keep them with me; and how can I bear to part from +the darlings?' + +There was a tremor in the mother's voice. + +Catherine clasped the little woman in her arms, and laid her cheek +against her face. + +'Oh, you might have told me sooner of your anxiety! Would it not have +been easier to bear, if you had told some one, even me, who would have +sympathised?' + +'I knew you would say I must go. It _is_ my duty, I admit. Henry has let +me have a long holiday trip--first to Australia, now to England. I have +seen all my friends and relatives, and recovered my own health. With the +exception that it is terribly hard to leave my children, there is not +the slightest excuse for me to stay here.' + +'Is the climate _really_ so bad?' + +'For children, yes. They shall not grow up sickly because their mother +thought more of her own happiness than of their welfare.' + +'And you expressed a wonder, only a few minutes ago, that any one could +desire faith which might entail self-sacrifice! Oh, you dear, brave +little mother, even while you are lonely for want of your babies, will +you not be proud and glad because you have loved them better than +yourself? That is the way in which gladness comes from loving God. And +it is He alone who can comfort you, to whom you can pray for Ted and +Toddie; to whose loving care you can confide them, knowing that He can +guard them better even than your love could do, were you always close +beside them!' + +Mrs. Arderne laid her hand on her companion's shoulder, and indulged in +a hearty cry. + +'Oh, Cath!' she said at last, 'I _must_ learn to love God now, for I +shall be so lonely in India, and I must feel that I can do something for +the babies when I am far away from them. He won't be angry and refuse to +listen to me, will He, because so long as I was quite happy I did not +serve Him?' + +'The labourer who came at the eleventh hour into the vineyard received +the same pay as those who had borne the heat and labour of the whole +day. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but +that the world through Him might be saved.' + +After another silence Mrs. Arderne said: + +'When I go, you will take charge of Ted and Toddie? Promise me that, +Catherine. Whether you live in Redan Cottage, or in your husband's +home, you can give a shelter to my babes. There need be no difficulty +about money, for I can make a liberal allowance for their comfort, and +to do _something_ towards recompensing your care of them. This idea only +occurred to me the other day, after I received Henry's letter asking me +to come back soon to him, and then I felt I could have hugged you for +refusing to be adopted by your Uncle Ross!' + +'He did not want to adopt me, dear. I should have had a home of my own. +Still, perhaps he would not have liked me to bring Ted and Toddie on +constant visits to Carm Hall; and if I have charge of them, I will never +be parted from them.' + +'If? Tell me you _will_, Catherine. I can only be happy about them if I +leave them in your care.' + +'I promise I will have them, if Uncle Jack does not refuse, and he is +not likely to do that.' + +'You do not speak of Brian's opinion.' + +'There is no need. Brian will be glad for me to do anything in the world +that I can do to ease your anxiety. Besides, are you not making me a +most helpful offer? You are going to keep on your companion, letting her +live at home. She would be altogether delighted, were it not that she +will be parted from you!' + +'You must write to me, Cath, very, _very_ often; and you won't let the +babes forget me, will you? Oh, but I know you will not! Your salary must +be doubled, so that you are no expense to Uncle Jack, and we will decide +on a sum to pay for the board of Ted and Toddie. Dear child, it is a +comfort to me to feel that you will benefit by my misfortune. You'll be +able to save money, to help your lover, and in a few years Henry will +bring me back to England.' + +After a little more discussion of this plan, Mrs. Arderne sent Catherine +to take the news to Redan Cottage. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +Confidences and an Attempt + + +Only Agatha was at home this evening, and her joy may be imagined. + +'Oh, _Catherine_; you will come to live here, with those two dear +children? We shall have you, just as we planned to do! and you are +_glad_ to come!' + +A short while ago the little girl would have said, '_I_ shall have you,' +and would not have troubled to question whether or not the arrangement +would bring joy to others; but the influence of Catherine's teaching was +working within this heart. + +'Glad?--yes indeed, dearie!' + +'And you will talk to me every day about God, until He seems real and +near? Then I shall not be so dreadfully afraid of dying.' + +The colonel returned to the house early in the evening, to be greeted by +the radiant smiles of his niece and ward. The former rose from her low +seat by Agatha's couch, and advanced to meet him with her hands +outstretched, and cried,-- + +'I want to come "home" to stay, dear uncle. Will you have me?' + +It was sweet for her to see the joyous light that broke over his face as +he listened to her explanations, for she learned to understand more and +more how much he had wanted her. His earnest words of welcome were not +necessary, though they also were sweet to Catherine. Later, when he was +walking back to Woodley Villa with her, she learned a fact which robbed +her prospects of some of their joyousness, but which made her trebly +thankful that she was to live 'at home' for the future. + +They had reached the gate of Mrs. Arderne's house, when Uncle Jack laid +his hand detainingly on his niece's arm, and said,-- + +'Lassie, you know that my pension is a very small one, and that it will +die with me?' + +'Yes?' + +'When Agatha comes of age, if she lives, she will come into a tiny +fortune; but meanwhile, the sum that was allowed me for her maintenance +is barely sufficient.' + +'Are you afraid that I shall prove an extravagant housekeeper?' + +'No, dear,--no. But if I were to die,--what would become of Agatha?' + +'Could I take care of her,--I mean, would she suffer if I had to provide +for her altogether out of that sum which you say is barely sufficient?' + +'You could do it, lassie, but she would be a great tie.' + +'I will never desert her while she needs me. Even if Brian would not let +me have her with me, and you know that is an unnecessary supposition, I +could make arrangements for her to board and lodge somewhere quite near, +so that I could be often with her. You meant, did you not, that you +could not bear to think of her being left lonely, and obliged to think +and manage for herself? I would prevent that.' + +Uncle Jack smiled, and squeezed the arm he was holding. + +'God bless you, dearest,--you have taken a load of anxiety off my mind! +Yes, that _was_ all I meant. I couldn't endure the thought that my poor +Agatha might be utterly alone. Probably my brother would offer her a +home,--but I could not count upon that.' + +'But you--you are not going to die soon. I mean you--you are not ill?' + +'For a year past I have had need to be careful of myself. My heart is in +a wrong condition, so the doctor tells me. In fact, lassie, his warnings +simply amount to this, which we all believe of ourselves,--that I might +die any moment, if God so pleased.' + +For a while Catherine was speechless. Then she realised the truth which +the colonel's words had suggested--threatened his life might be, but it +could not end until the Creator had ordained that he should die. + +'No wonder you have been anxious about Agatha. Dearest uncle, do not +worry about her any more. Please God, we will keep you for many, many +years to come, but if He were to call you away from us, we would cling +to one another for all our lives.' + +'Lassie, lassie,--I didn't mean to bring tears into your eyes! You +mustn't be less brave than your words. We are all under orders,--and a +good soldier never lets himself fear the next command.' + +'No, I will remember your advice,--colonel.' + +There was a smile on her lips now, as she gazed lovingly into the old +man's face. + +'This is a secret from Agatha, of course--she is not strong enough yet +to bear burdens that can be spared her. You and I are more like +comrades, lassie, who can hearten and strengthen one another by +exchanging ideas and knowledge.' + +'I shall always ask God to help me to help you, then, Uncle Jack, for +you are naturally a brave fighter, while I am but a girl.' + +'Many a woman's courage has shamed a man! I remember hearing how, just +before the battle of Inkerman----' + +And then followed an anecdote, the telling of which brought fire into +the eyes of the old soldier, and a thrill into his voice. Catherine, +watching him, guessed that it was in this unconscious manner that he had +inspired poor Loring Carmichael with that love for the military +profession which had caused him to anger his Uncle Ross. + +An unconscious influence!--this it was for which Uncle Ross would not +forgive his brother, who daily grieved for the estrangement between +them! + +And though Loring had died young, had he not died honourably? Since +there must be soldiers, why, some must die young,--and all honour be to +them! Surely Uncle Jack had done Loring no great injury after all. The +young man had been spared the temptations of long life, and had gone to +find the reward which the King of Battles gives to all loyal-hearted +fighters. + +While hearing the anecdote of the battle of Inkerman, Catherine +Carmichael once more resolved to make every effort to bring about a +reconciliation between her uncles. + +'That was a fine story!' she cried, when the tale was ended. + +'Yes, lassie; women are very brave,--often. You have made me happy +to-night. I could say you have taken away my last trouble, if it were +not for Ross' anger against me. God knows I would give the rest of my +life, if possible, in exchange for the reinstating of the old regard we +had for one another! We were devoted to one another as lads and young +men, Catherine. There was never a quarrel between us,--and we were +friends, true, absolute friends, until Ross caught the gold fever, that +passion for money-earning and hoarding which ruins many men.' + +'That was the beginning of your estrangement?' + +'That began to put us out of sympathy; but I want him just as badly as +ever, lassie. After almost a lifetime of brotherly affection, this +separation is terrible. I think the tie that binds one man's heart to +another is tremendously powerful. I shouldn't wonder if Ross were +wishing for my friendship all the while almost as strongly as I long for +his; but his pride has grown very stubborn, and I did him an undoubted +injury, though I meant no harm.' + +'God will answer our prayers, Uncle Jack, dear. The reconciliation will +come some day.' + +'His will be done!' was the reverent answer. Then the colonel suddenly +remembered how long he had kept his niece standing talking by the +gate,--and they parted with a great hand-clasp,--'just like +comrade-soldiers,' as Catherine thought to herself. + +She ran indoors, and sought out Mrs. Arderne, who was in the nursery +putting away the toys which Ted and Toddie had been playing with before +they had been carried away to bed. + +'Cath! your face has a cloud over it!' + +'Oh, you quick-sighted friend!--Yes, I want to tell you about +something--about Uncle Jack.' + +The little woman drew a chair forward, and made the tall girl sit down; +then standing beside her, pillowed her brown head on her arm. + +'Let me hear all,--it is my turn to try to comfort you now!' + +Gradually the tale was told, and Catherine did not pretend not to be +deeply grieved about her uncle's illness. Warm-hearted, tender-natured +as she was, she could not fail to sorrow over the news he had told her +of his state of health, although she never lost consciousness of that +beautiful truth that God was taking care of him. + +'You see, God may mean to take him from me soon,' she explained, +clinging to the encircling arm. 'I cannot tell _how_ soon. God has a +right to do so. His decrees are always for our good, but--but--I love +Uncle Jack so truly, and I have only just found him! It seems so hard to +contemplate the possibility of having to give him up to God just yet. +You won't think me wicked, or a hypocrite, to be feeling like this, will +you?' + +'No, no, childie! Your religion would not be beautiful at all, if it did +not make allowance for natural human feelings. Resignation must be the +result of sorrow, mustn't it? Poor, dear old gentleman! I hope and trust +that he may be spared to you for a long, long time. And you know, dear, +threatened lives are often lengthy. You must take great care of him.' + +'Indeed I will! Do you not think that his trouble must be very bad for +him?--his regret about the quarrel? He told me to-night that he would +gladly give the rest of his life, if by so doing he could become friends +again with his brother.' + +'Can't you soften Mr. Carmichael's heart by telling him of his brother's +illness?' + +Catherine raised her face, and eagerly considered this suggestion. + +'Oh, if I only could coax him to make the least advance, or even to meet +Uncle Jack somewhere for a talk, the battle would be won! It is +dreadfully selfish of me to be sitting here crying, when I ought to be +forming plans of action and praying for success with them!' + +'Oh, you energetic young woman, you need not grudge yourself five +minutes' rest and indulgence in tears! Why, a good cry sometimes does a +girl a world of good, and acts as a tonic, so that she can work fifty +times better after it.' + +'I know, and you are such a dear to cry upon!' + +'We are to be parted so soon, Cath, that it is best for us to help one +another all we can now.' + +'Will it be very soon? Agatha asked me, but I told her that I did not +know.' + +'I have been making my plans while you were away, and I have decided to +leave England the week after next. Nurse can have board wages instead of +her notice, unless, indeed, you would like to keep her on. You are quite +welcome to do so, if you prefer it.' + +'There would be no room for her in Redan Cottage, and I would much +rather have Ted and Toddie all to myself. You do not imagine that I +regard a nurse's daily work as hard or derogatory, do you? Why, it is +some of the best and greatest labour a woman can possibly find to do!' + +'My children are extraordinarily lucky little people to be left in your +care, Catherine!' said the mother gratefully. + +'So you will be with your husband for Christmas?' + +'Yes,--poor Henry! I had contemplated inviting lots of friends down to +stay with me, and indulging in all the Yule-tide frivolities and +entertainments of the neighbourhood--dances, etc.; but my heart has +reproached me too strongly. Thanks to you, I'm not half as +pleasure-craving a butterfly as I used to be. Duty seems not only best, +but happiest. Once I have got over the parting with you and the chicks, +I know I shall be glad to be with Henry, in spite of the climate.' + +The two women kissed one another, and clung together, feeling that their +troubles had wrought a strong tie of sympathy between them. Then ensued +a long, thoughtful silence, which was broken at last by Catherine's +earnest, low-toned voice, saying,-- + +'Do you remember the words of Jesus Christ to Simon Peter: "I have +prayed for thee that thy faith fail not; and when thou are converted, +strengthen thy brethren"? I have always thought that so touching an +instance of our Lord's mercy! For He knew that Peter was about to deny +Him, yet He prayed that in sin he might not lose his faith, but, in +spite of his errors, come to be a teacher of others. Dearest of +friends, I am only an ignorant, sinful creature, but if we ask God to +help me, He will teach me how to watch over and train Ted and Toddie, so +that they may not suffer for want of their mother's presence.' + +'Cath,--teach them to be like yourself, and I shall be more than +satisfied!' + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +Good-bye + + +Catherine wrote two long letters next morning--one to Brian, the other +to Uncle Ross--to acquaint them with her new prospects. She concluded +the letter to her uncle in this way:-- + + 'I shall be sorry if my going to live at Redan Cottage displeases + you, but I know you will be glad for me to do anything I can to + serve my kind friend, Mrs. Arderne,--and remember, you promised not + to quarrel seriously with + + 'Your affectionate niece, + + 'CATHERINE CARMICHAEL.' + +In the course of the same day she received his reply, brought down to +her by a groom. Her uncle assured her of his esteem for Mrs. Arderne, +and his unalterable affection for herself, and expressed satisfaction +that the proposed change in her circumstances would be of pecuniary +advantage to her. Redan Cottage was not so much as mentioned, nor was +Uncle Jack nor Agatha. + +Brian's reply, which was lengthy, greatly comforted Catherine. Not only +did he thoroughly approve Mrs. Arderne's plan, but he sent such earnest +sympathy, combined with encouragement, on the subject of the colonel's +state of health, that his promised wife felt that she possessed in him a +consoler upon whose perfect understanding and stable judgments she could +always rely. And, in advising her to hope for success in her efforts to +effect reconciliation, he alluded to 'your happy faith, which you have +taught me to share.' + +During the following days Uncle Jack and Mrs. Arderne, Agatha, and the +children, met many times, and inaugurated friendships, greatly to +Catherine's delight. + +'That old man is a hero and a darling!' the vivacious little lady told +her companion one evening, after they had spent some hours at Redan +Cottage. + +'Yet you once wanted me to give up his friendship, to refuse his offer, +to practically behave as though I did not love him, and all for the sake +of Uncle Ross's money!' + +'Cath, don't throw my past folly in my face! I didn't know your uncle +then, and I felt sure you were championing the one because he was the +poorer,--out of a mingling of quixotic chivalry and obstinate pride.' + +'What is your opinion of my poor little Agatha?' + +'I don't like her--I've not advanced far enough in the study or practice +of universal charity to feel sure that I love her, as we are told to +love all men! As for loving her specially, as you seem to do, that is +quite out of the question for me,--a thing far beyond the bounds of +possibility.' + +'She only shows you her outward self,--the bad manners and forgetfulness +of others of a spoilt child; if she had shown you her heart, with all +its pathetic longings, fears, and affections, all its contradictory +beauty and ugliness, you would be just as fond of her as I am.' + +'I can't think so. The only reason why I feel the least tenderness +towards her is the fondness she shows for my babies.' + +'The more you see of her the faster will grow that tenderness. She is +one of the many girls who suffer countless deprivations on account of +their unconciliatory manners, and who remain lonely and morbid because +no one ever loves them well enough to gain their confidence.' + +'But supposing there seems nothing worth loving?' + +'That can't ever be--not to a person who sees God's +handiwork--something, therefore, of God's own beauty--in every human +face,' said Catherine. + +Before the day came for Mrs. Arderne's departure from Beverbridge, she +had become genuinely interested in Agatha, and much more friendly +towards her. Ted and Toddie, with the impulsiveness of their youth, had +forced their passage into Agatha's love. 'We only just wanted to be nice +at first, 'cause we was sowwy for you, 'cause you can't get up,' Ted +announced once; 'but now we weally loves 'oo.' + +And after a speech of this description, delivered by a truthful, +confiding, kissable urchin six years of age, and echoed by his more +demure but equally kissable sister, what could Agatha's pride do but +yield? She was always happy, even when suffering pain, if Ted and Toddie +were playing about the room, running up to her couch every few minutes +to ask her opinion or advice, or to bestow a 'weal good cuddle' upon +her. + +'Muvver, you've _no_ idea how _vewwy_ nice Ag'tha is,' declared Toddie. + +Ted one evening determined to break the ice between his mother and +Agatha, and proceeded to act upon his intention with his usual +all-subduing bluntness. + +'Ag'tha,' he announced, 'you like muvver, don't you? and muvver, you +like Ag'tha, don't you? So s'pose you just kiss one anover an' be fwends +ever afterwards?' + +The kiss was given, laughingly; indeed, it could not well be refused. +Agatha wondered if Ted were right, if Mrs. Arderne did really like her; +and this thought made her manner gentle and timid, the consequence of +which was that the child's surmise was proved accurate, even though it +had been a mistake at first. + +The time for the mother's departure arrived all too rapidly. She had +superintended the fitting up of Ted and Toddie's nursery in Redan +Cottage, had found out, with pride, that the little people were already +beloved by all the household, and knew that they were certain to be +quite happy with Catherine. Perhaps her heart suffered a few pangs +because of her knowledge that they would have grieved far more, had it +been Catherine who was obliged to leave them; but this reflection she +resolutely put away from her, as one likely to encourage selfishness. +After all, the fact was not strange. It was Catherine who had appealed +to the souls of the babies, taken notice of their young emotions, +studied their characters, helped and consoled them in their troubles; +she, the mother, had petted them egregiously when they pleased her, and +banished them without remorse when their prattle had tired her. By +assiduously caring for their health, she had imagined that her duty had +been fully done, but now, when it was too late, she realized that even +small children should be taught to respect the justice of praise and +blame, punishment and reward, and that they turn naturally with the +greatest affection to those who appeal to their generosity. While +Catherine had taught them 'Be good, or you will grieve your loving +Father in heaven, who sees you every minute of the day and night, who is +sorry when you are naughty, and glad when you are trying to please Him,' +Mrs. Arderne had ruled by alternate bribes and threats, such as, 'If you +are naughty, you shall not have that picture-book I promised you,' or, +'_Do_ be good, Ted and Toddie, then you shall have those nice chocolates +out of the cupboard.' + +Often and often had Ted's spirit failed to be subdued by these means; he +had been known to answer, 'Don't care! do wivout choc'lates'; but a few +minutes' talk with Catherine had never been found to result in anything +but meekness and repentance. + +It was the old story--when worldly measures proved worthless, God's love +produced wonders. + +The day of farewells came at last, after a few days which had seemed to +lag because they had been filled with sorrow. Mrs. Arderne was to start +very early for London, so the parting with Ted and Toddie was a silent +one. Bending over them where they lay happily asleep in their cots--Ted +pouting and Toddie smiling seraphically--the mother would not waken them +to gratify herself at their expense. 'It's best that they don't know,' +she whispered, 'for they would cry, though you could soon comfort them.' +Then she kissed the rosy cheeks, laid her hands on the golden head and +the brown one, and let Catherine lead her out of the room. + +'Oh, Cath, Cath, be good to them!' + +'You know I will, dearest.' + +'Don't let them forget me. Try to make them remember their mother's good +points only, if she has any. I have not been the best of mothers, but it +was through ignorance; and, please God, I'll learn all about Him, so +that the children may not find me wanting in sympathy when I come home +to them.' + +'Pray for them night and morning, just when you feel sure they are +saying their prayers and asking God to bless "muvver."' + +'Oh, their dear little lisps! They won't be babies any longer when I see +them again, my darlings!' + +This was the worst parting; though the little woman clung to Catherine +at the last moment in the railway carriage, and felt, as she owned, that +she could scarcely bear to let her go, the mother's sorrow was naturally +the stronger, as was proved by her last words. + +'Be good to them, Cath, take care of them.' + +As the girl returned alone to the villa, to superintend the removal of +herself and the children to Redan Cottage and to part with the nurse, +she was conscious of a feeling of dread at the responsibility she had +adopted, as well as of a loneliness due to the loss of her friend; and +it was only by means of prayer that she regained courage. + +Not until Ted and Toddie were installed in their new home did Catherine +break the news to them of their mother's departure. + +'_Oh, Carr, she's not gone'd?_' + +The pathetic cry, the startled look went straight to the girl's heart. + +'Ted, she is coming back again!' she cried, clasping him to her breast, +'and you must try ever so hard to grow good, wise, and clever, that she +may be really proud of her boy!' + +Toddie sat down on the floor and began to weep, refusing utterly to be +comforted until she had had her cry out, when she displayed healthy +curiosity regarding her new doll's cradle, her mother's parting gift. + +Ted had by far the more affectionate disposition, and grieved trebly as +much as his sister, as Catherine had expected. He tried to hide his +unhappiness, even from her, until night, when she found him sobbing +pitifully in the dark, and had to spend a long while in endeavouring to +soothe him. + +At last he cried himself to sleep in her arms. + +It was many days before the little fellow ceased to fret, and at one +time Catherine began to fear for his health; but she and Agatha managed +him so adroitly that he was surprised into laughing over a new game one +evening, and after that laugh his spirits gradually returned to him. + +'His mother will cry over the letter I have sent her, describing Ted's +way of bearing his first big sorrow,' said Catherine to Agatha; 'but +they will be tears that will do her heart good.' + +Toddie was quite placid again by this time, and was becoming the idol of +all but Agatha and Catherine, who could not help loving Ted best, though +they tried to show no preference. + +'Uncle Jack' was the tiny girl's favourite friend, and he spent most of +his leisure in her company, which never failed to cheer him. + +How greatly he was in need of cheering, Catherine now began to discover. +She loved him so well that her power of character-reading was greatly +aided in his case. When Agatha thought him merely tired, Catherine knew +that he was dejected; when he was laughing aloud over his games with the +children, Catherine saw the weary look in his eyes, detected a wistful +cadence in his voice, and knew that he was thinking of the quarrel which +was as a dark shadow over these years of his old age. + +Morning and night, at family prayers, a petition was offered up for the +reconciling of all family feuds, the forgiveness of injuries between +friends, the health and happiness of relatives. And one day some time +after Christmas the colonel turned to those around him, saying simply:-- + +'This is the anniversary of the day when I and my brother Ross +quarrelled, when he told me we could live together no longer. Will you +all pray silently for his welfare, here and hereafter, and for our +reconciliation, if God in His mercy wills it? I know I have always +prayed aloud for this before, in other years; but to-day--my courage +fails me.' + +'Catherine, if I should die suddenly,' he said when next alone with his +niece, 'I trust to you to tell Ross I have never borne him any ill-will, +and that I hope to meet him in the kingdom where all the secrets of +men's hearts will be made plain, and where the God of love reigns for +ever and ever.' + +'I promise to bear your wish in mind, dearest uncle,' was her answer. + +And she resolved that not another day should pass before she made one +more attempt to soften her other uncle's heart and overrule his pride. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +The Fate of a Letter + + +Next morning dawned fair. Catherine was astir early, as was her custom; +but, instead of writing letters, devoted all her time to meditating upon +her resolution to plead with Uncle Ross. These meditations were +interspersed with earnest prayers, and with a study of those parts of +the Bible which she thought would best help her in her task. + +'I must go to work very humbly,' she told herself, 'or else I may make +some serious mistake, and maybe increase instead of lessening Uncle +Jack's trouble. If I remember all the time that no action of mine can be +the least use unless God helps me, then I am not likely to do harm.' + +Her desire to make another effort on Uncle Jack's behalf was just as +strong by morning light as it had been the preceding evening, but the +difficulties in the way of success looked more colossal. What could she +say, that would not be mere repetition of all she had already said? +Nothing, except that now she could plead for the reconciliation to take +place because the colonel's life was in danger. And if Uncle Ross did +not care sufficiently for his brother to be touched by this news, +influenced by the dread lest the quarrel should continue until death, +there was no strong argument upon which the pleader could fall back as a +last resource. + +But surely, surely Uncle Ross _would_ care! The lonely old man, +surrounded by riches and comforts, _must_ be longing all the while for +the brotherly love he had cast away, and repeatedly refused to welcome +back again! + +Catherine's warm heart glowed with affection for all who were good to +her, but more especially for those to whom she felt drawn by the tie of +sympathy; and she could not believe that a brother could possibly +continue to refuse to clasp a brother's hand, nor that any one could +long withstand the gentle fascination of Uncle Jack's sincerity. + +The more she prayed and meditated, the more hopeful did she become. +She even found herself smiling over the contemplation of a +dream-picture--the possible result of the efforts she was planning--of +the brothers meeting once again as friends, not foes, and trying to +outdo one another in their expressions of sorrow for the years of +misunderstanding. + +'Uncle Ross is generous at heart, I feel sure he is!' she thought. 'It +is only, as Uncle Jack told me, that he has allowed his business career +to spoil his outward character--he has grown too fond of money--hard, +calculating, and cynical. But, in spite of his wealth, he is unhappy and +lonely--he has come to regard his life as a failure. He will welcome the +friendship and unmercenary devotion of the brother who has never ceased +to sorrow for the loss of his regard!' + +Before going downstairs to breakfast Catherine woke and dressed the +children and listened to their prayers. + +They clung round her and begged for a 'talk,' and this too she gave +them--a quaint little morning homily--dealing with the probable events +of the day, containing a promise to have a real, long game of play with +them in the evening, to make up for leaving them with Agatha until +dinner-time. + +'You will be dear, good little people, will you not, so that I may go to +see Uncle Ross quite happily, without worrying about having left you at +home?' + +Ted laughed wickedly, but was instantly rebuked by Toddie. + +'Naughty boy not to pwomise at once! _I'll_ be good, Carr dear, but I +can't keep Ted fwom bein' bad.' + +'Ted will not break his word to me, I am certain of that,' said +Catherine, gravely regarding the mischievous-looking urchin. + +'That's why didn't want to pwomise,' explained the rebel. 'Feels naughty +this mornin'.' + +'Come and kiss me.' + +This invitation could not be resisted. In a second he had scrambled on +to her knee, was clasping both his fat little arms round her neck, and +showering kisses upon her cheeks and brow. + +'Oh, Ted, you do not wish to vex our good God, and to worry your own +Carr, do you?' + +'_Ni-ever!_' cried Ted with emphasis. 'Only wanted to play pwanks, go +an' tease Hawwiet in the kitchen, an' make Ag'tha let me do everything I +like best!' + +'You will do none of those things,' announced Catherine firmly. + +Ted, scarcely believing she could be angry, yet awed by the decided +tone, gazed up at her, asking,-- + +'_Why_ won't I?' + +'Because you love me, Ted. I cannot have that which _I_ like best, if +you are determined to try to please yourself this morning. I shall have +to stay at home to take charge of you, if you mean to be naughty.' + +'An' you _weally_ want to go to see that howwid old man?' + +'Oh, Ted,' put in Toddie the virtuous, 'you _are_ a wicked, bad boy +to-day! I wonder Carr has any patience wiv 'oo.' + +'I shall be _very much_ disappointed if I cannot go to Carm Hall.' + +Ted meditated for a minute, then he laughed delightedly,-- + +'Then I'll save all the pwanks up!' he announced. 'I promise dweffully +solemnly that I'll be won'erful good all the times you'se away, Carr +lovey!' + +When Catherine, having completed her conquest over Ted's mischievous +longings, ran downstairs to breakfast, she found a letter awaiting her. +It proved to be from her Melbourne cousin George, to whom she had +written so long ago asking him for news of the last hours of poor Loring +Carmichael. + +Robert was shovelling away at the fire, and Harriet was laying the meal, +so after a few words to them Catherine slipped away into the garden to +read the long letter in peace. + +She was not in the least cold, though the January air was fresh, as she +paced round and round the narrow gravel walk which surrounded the small +lawn. + +Her cheeks were glowing with a healthy colour, and her brown hair, +having just been rumpled by that naughty Ted, was blown in bewitching +locks and curls about her brow. + +There was a happy smile of pleased expectation on her lips as she began +to read, but it faded away and was replaced by a look of anxiety and +grief long before she had finished the letter. + +After a few unimportant sentences George Carmichael wrote:-- + +'I know that I ought to have answered your letter long ago, and I should +have done so, had I been certain how much I was justified in telling you +about poor Loring. You say you are in a position to make use of any +information I can send you, but my knowledge seems to me to be of a kind +which, if shared with our uncles, would only increase their quarrel, not +lessen it. Loring dictated two letters before he died, which I wrote and +despatched as he desired--the one to Uncle Ross, the other to Uncle +Jack. They were addressed to Carm Hall. As he was able to write through +me, he did not give any verbal messages when he was dying. Have you +never heard of these letters? It is not possible, is it, that Uncle Jack +never received his? There! that question is as bad as a lie, so please +consider it scratched out. I know, by something you said in your last +letter to me, that Uncle J. can't have received it. These are the facts +of the case. Loring was offered his choice between giving up his +intention to be a soldier, or accepting an income of L2000 a year, with +the prospect of inheriting almost all Uncle Ross's fortune. This sounds +straight enough, but it was not straight, for he was bound over not to +tell Uncle Jack of the bribe offered. Uncle J. thought he was choosing +simply between the army and an office stool. Uncle Ross offered him +money down, and a life of idleness, spent where he pleased; in fact, +there was nothing he would not have offered in order to buy out his +brother's influence. When Loring lay dying he considered himself freed +from that promise of secrecy which he had made for his lifetime, and he +wrote to Uncle Jack telling him how Ross had acted. He also explained +that he had left home without any farewells, in order to leave them free +to forget him, the cause of their quarrel, and because he was indignant +at the secrecy, which seemed dishonourable, of the offer made him. +"You," he wrote, "would have scorned to privately bribe me, had you +possessed my other uncle's wealth. I chose to follow my own wish in the +matter of choosing a profession, since I felt that, by attempting to +bribe me, Uncle Ross had absolved me from all obligation due to his +former care of me. Until he made that offer, which few young men would +have refused, I was trying to subdue my longing for a soldier's life, +that I might repay him for making me his heir. You never tried to +influence me; you only told me true stories of a soldier's life. _It was +entirely owing to Uncle Ross's secret persuasion that I left home to +enlist._" There, my dear Catherine, as nearly as I can remember, those +were the words poor Loring wrote to Uncle Jack by my hand in that +letter which it is clear enough Uncle Jack has not received. My own +opinion is, that it reached Carm Hall after the colonel's departure, and +that Uncle Ross (knowing some of its contents through Loring's letter to +him) purposely refrained from forwarding it. If my suspicion is correct, +the news I send you will surely increase the family quarrel rather than +lessen it; but I place it in your hands to be used or not used, as you +judge best. My opinion is that a reconciliation will never take place, +if it cannot come to pass without a confession by the squire. It is more +often the person who has done the injury, not the person injured, who +refuses to forgive. If you ever wish for it, Catherine, I can send you a +copy of Loring's letter to the colonel, for I have at home the rough +notes for it--the words that his failing breath dictated to me.' + +[Illustration] + +'Catherine, dear!' + +Uncle Jack had come to the open window of the dining-room, and was +calling her in from the garden. + +'Coming!' + +There was no time to think over the letter she had been reading, and she +must laugh and talk over the breakfast just as though no news had come +to startle her. + +Catherine made a brave effort to appear unconcerned, and, luckily, +Agatha was in a cheerful, unobservant mood; and the colonel, though he +noticed that his niece's merriment was rather strained, guessed that she +was tired, or maybe disappointed at having received no communication +from Brian. When prayers had been said, and Agatha carried back to the +couch in her own little sitting-room and given charge over Ted and +Toddie, who promised to be 'beautifully good all mornin',' Catherine was +free to put one or two careful questions to her uncle. She went to him +where he was sitting before his writing-table, and clasping his arm, +knelt by his side, gazing affectionately into his face. + +'Dear, I--have been thinking a great deal about poor Loring this +morning.' + +'Ah! my dear boy! He was the best of lads; so honourable and +high-spirited!' + +'Did he send you a message--or a letter--before he died, dear?' + +'No, not a word. But you must not blame him for that, lassie. He may +have had no time, have remained unconscious until the end; or I +sometimes think he may have learned to regret his adoption of the +profession, since for a gentleman a "private's" life is a hard one, and +he may have felt anger against me for having caused him to become a +soldier.' + +'But you did not directly counsel him to enter the army, did you, +uncle?' + +'No, no; I never counselled him to refuse to obey the wishes of the +uncle to whom he owed all. I only pleaded with Ross for him, and no +doubt I talked to him a great deal about the service--I could not help +that; and he used to question me so eagerly. Yet I have no doubt that I +was to blame, as Ross says I was, for the lad's rebellion and decision.' + +Catherine rose, and kissed the old man's forehead before leaving him. + +'I do not believe that Loring ever regretted his decision or ceased to +be grateful to you, dear uncle,' she said softly. + +She thought over George's letter while she walked the four miles to Carm +Hall; but her resolution had sprung into being directly she had heard +the colonel's self-blaming answer to her questions. She was indignant +now on his behalf. Had the squire indeed kept back the dying lad's +letter to his best friend, the relative whom he had loved more than any +other living creature? If so, then the time had come for her to make a +bold attempt to force a reconciliation, unless she could persuade Uncle +Ross to yield for reason's, for honour's, and for pity's sake. And +Uncle Jack had said, 'I would gladly give the rest of my life, if +possible, in exchange for the reinstating of the old regard we, Ross and +I, had for one another. I want him just as badly as ever, lassie!' + +Oh, supposing the wrong were proved to have been done--and of this +Catherine could not have much doubt--if Uncle Ross would but ask for +pardon, how gladly, generously, would not Uncle Jack give it! + +'O my God, help me!' prayed the girl, as she hurried along the country +road. 'Without Thy aid I can do nothing. Help me not to judge others +harshly, to remember that I _can't judge_ of the strength of those +temptations to which others have yielded. Let me forget myself and my +own poor opinions; let me not speak angrily or foolishly; and if Thy +will does not forbid it, let me see my uncles true brothers again--Uncle +Ross forgiven by the man he has injured, as a prelude to being pardoned +by Thee!' + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +Catherine's Appeal + + +When Catherine Carmichael reached Carm Hall she found that a groom was +leading the squire's horse up and down the carriage drive. Her uncle +appeared at the hall door, booted for riding, just as she arrived at it; +but he smilingly welcomed her, and gave orders that the spirited bay +should be taken back to the stable. + +'I do not receive visits from you so often that I can afford to cut them +short, my dear,' he replied to her promise that she would not detain him +long. + +'Don't take me into the drawing-room,' she petitioned. 'I have a great +deal to say to you, uncle, and the library is so much more cosy. If you +treat me as a stranger, my courage will fail me, and I shall not be able +to find words in which to explain my reason for coming to-day.' + +He smiled. + +'Your wish is, of course, a command to me. I trust that nothing is +troubling you? Mr. North is not ill?' + +'No; the trouble does not concern Brian.' + +He wheeled the largest arm-chair near to the fire for her, and stood +beside her, looking down into her face. + +His figure was upright, his eyes keen, but the lines in his brow were +deeply cut, and his beard and hair were quite white. A fine old man, a +typical squire, with an autocrat's expression. + +Even while admiring her uncle, Catherine was remembering the secret +wrong he had done--the dishonouring small sins of which he had been +guilty. His proud air and haughty manner hid remorse and +self-condemnation; surely this must be so! + +'Your friend, Mrs. Arderne, is not ill either? The children cannot be +unwell, or you would not have left them.' + +'The troubles all concern Uncle Jack and--and you.' + +There was a great fear in her heart, and her voice trembled. Oh, if this +dread, this mastering weakness of will, were to continue, there would be +no chance of influencing this stern, self-possessed man by her words! In +that moment Catherine both despised and detested herself. + +But she had sought powerful aid; she had put her case into the hands of +her Heavenly Father, beseeching Him to plead her cause for her through +her own lips; and the remembrance of His mercy and goodness came back to +her mind just as she needed it most. With God's help, wonders and +miracles might be accomplished! + +At the mention of Uncle Jack the squire's frown had appeared. It was a +visible effort to him to show the unvarying courtesy he deemed due to a +woman when Catherine would speak of his enemy. + +'Forgive me if I say that you had better have chosen a different +confidant, if you wish to discuss affairs concerning my brother.' + +'No other confidant would do, and I knew you would not refuse to listen +to me.' + +'I am powerless to refuse a lady's request, when it is in my power to +grant it, when the lady is my niece, to whom I am attached, and when she +proffers the request under my own roof. I can only request her to desist +from making it.' + +'Uncle, I have such strong motives that I cannot yield my will to yours +this time!' + +He smiled cynically. + +'My dear Catherine, you have not exhibited any willingness ever to +consider my desires rather than your own!' + +A hot retort was just springing from her lips, but she restrained the +wrong impulse. + +'I am sorry, truly sorry, that I have not been able to please you. Had I +been in your favour, my task to-day would have been so much easier. +Uncle, let me stand beside you; I can talk better when I stand, and I am +tall enough to look right into your eyes! Don't be angry with me, dear! +You were never vexed with "little Catherine" in the old days. Do you +recollect one great argument we had about the necessity for men, as well +as women, to lead religious lives? I was only a child; it was not easy +for me to bear my part in that argument. I lost my temper, and behaved +very impertinently to you, I'm afraid, yet you were not angry--certainly +not the least bit sarcastic! When I apologised afterwards, you told me +you "liked my spirited defence of that which I believed right!"' + +The squire's expression softened, and he laid his hand on that small but +firm one which had stolen through his arm. + +'Are you preparing to lose your temper again, Catherine?' + +'No, I will try not to do so; I don't think I shall want to. Uncle Ross, +you have not the least idea how unhappy this family quarrel is making +your brother. He longs for your friendship, for the old affection +between you. He told me, only a little while ago, that he would gladly +give the remainder of his life in exchange for the reconciliation; only +God does not let His creatures bargain with Him in that way. I have come +here to-day to plead for Uncle Jack, not to begin by defending him. I +appeal to your sense of generosity first, to your memory of the love +that united you brothers in your childhood, youth, and young manhood.' + +'There is an insuperable obstacle against the proposed reconciliation.' + +Catherine watched his face as he spoke this quiet sentence. Yes, there +was the obstacle of his false pride. He would not confess himself in the +wrong; he could not endure the thought of humbling himself. The harsh +tone of voice, the fixed tension of the brows, the weary, cynical +smile--all these betokened the squire's sacrifice to his idol, Self. + +That he still cared for his brother Catherine felt certain. A warm +regard, the growth of years and years of intimacy, does not melt away in +a short time, nor can it be entirely obliterated by any quarrel. The +seeds of affection were springing ever fresh in a heart which would not +let love blossom and bear fruit. + +There was sadness in the words 'an insuperable obstacle.' + +'You wish that obstacle did not exist?' + +For a few minutes Ross Carmichael hesitated. He was reading his own +mind. Did he not regret that unworthy attempt to secretly bribe Loring +to reject Uncle Jack's influence? Did he not repent of the impulsive +hiding away of that last letter of Loring's--the deception of an instant +which had obliged him to practise deceit ever since? + +'Yes, Catherine, I regret the obstacle.' + +'And is it not in your power to overcome it?' + +Yes, it was, in two ways. Either the squire could confess the injury he +had done his brother, or he might make overtures of friendship without +ever owning the secret wrong. The first method was too distasteful to +his false pride; the second was impossible to a man whose honour had +been twice denied, but had never succumbed beneath the treatment. + +Call Jack brother, welcome him home, press his hand, live in his +company day after day, and all the while deceive him? No; the squire's +nature rebelled fiercely against this idea. + +'You will find me a--tolerably patient listener, my dear; but I refuse +to be "heckled,"' was his answer. + +'Forgive me, uncle! I am so much in earnest that maybe I am imprudent! +You know that I care very truly for you; that I care also for Uncle +Jack; and while I _know_ that he grieves for your friendship, I believe +you miss his presence here more than you will own. God gave you to one +another; let your warm affection be a joy to you; and now that you are +estranged you both are sorry for the loss of one another. Uncle Jack +tells me, "I long for Ross more than ever, now that I am growing old."' + +'Catherine, Catherine, for Heaven's sake desist from these appeals and +arguments, which have no respect for my feelings, but which are totally +useless!' + +'It is those feelings to which I wish to appeal. They have slept too +long; it is well for them to be roused!' cried the girl, clasping his +arm with both her hands. 'You will feel remorse and sorrow all the years +of your life, if Uncle Jack dies before you have made all the amends in +your power!' + +'_Dies!_' + +The squire's face had become ashen; his repetition of the word Catherine +had used betrayed the shock it had caused him. + +'_Dies!_' he repeated. 'John is my junior. The chance is that I die +before him.' + +'No, uncle; for his life is threatened; it might end any minute, so the +doctors tell him.' + +There was silence in the library for a while, only the fire flickered +and spluttered fiercely, and the heavy drops of a rain-storm dashed +against the windows. + +The squire stood erect, gazing straight before him, with not a change +of one muscle of his face. Yet no one, least of all Catherine, could +have seen that face without learning that a struggle and a grief were +tearing his heart. While he was silent he was looking into the far past, +to the childish days when Jack had been all-in-all to him, when his +affection for him had been of the loyal protecting order of the elder +for the younger; looking back to the youth of mutual aspirations after +higher things than worldly ambition, to the confidences of young +manhood, to the devotion for one woman, which had never separated them, +because for each it had been equally hopeless. How Jack had proposed, +after that sorrow, 'Let us keep together through life, you and I, Ross. +We shall always understand and respect one another's memories'! How the +promise had been kept, even when absence made letter-writing the only +method of communication! How nothing but the elder's change of +disposition had weakened the old tie! Money, money, money,--this had +become Ross's idol; in serving it he had lost touch with the finer +nature of his soldier brother, whose loyal, pure heart had remained +faithful. Then the episode of Loring Carmichael's adoption; their mutual +pride in the prospects of the clever lad who was to carry the old name +honourably into another generation, and keep the home and estate in +order. Then Loring's favouritism for Uncle Jack; the squire's growing +jealousy, and attempt to purchase his allegiance secretly. Later, +Loring's choice, Loring's departure; lastly, Loring's death, and the +concealed letter! + +No, not lastly, for years of estrangement had followed, beginning with a +mere quarrel which could easily have been made up, but which had been +sealed, as it were, by the squire's act of deception, that dishonouring +wrong to which he would not own. + +He saw himself in his true colours now, and was bitterly shamed by the +vision. + +But to be ashamed, and to own to the shame, were two different things. +He contrived to hide his emotion. + +'I am exceedingly sorry to hear of my brother's ill-health, Catherine. +Still, that does not efface the wrong he did me.' + +'What if I can prove to you that Loring was not influenced in his final +choice by Uncle Jack?' + +'I fail to understand how that could be. You never met--my nephew.' + +'No, uncle, but you have another nephew, who was his friend, who was +with him before his death, who wrote for him two letters of +farewell--one to you, one to Uncle Jack--my Cousin George in Melbourne.' + +The squire's expression changed again. He glanced anxiously into +Catherine's face. How much did she know? Was his wrong-doing to be +exposed, brought home to him by this penniless niece, who had refused to +sacrifice her sense of duty for the gain of a fortune?--this girl, whose +spirit he had admired in times past? + +It was too strange that she should humble him! Could he not think of any +way in which to make sure of her silence? + +No; for she was absolutely unselfish and honest. + +There was admiration for her in his mind, even while she was so calmly +defying him. Her truthful brown eyes did not falter beneath his glance; +her temper was not aroused. She was simply in earnest--doing battle for +Uncle Jack. + +He could not think how to answer her, until she spoke again, quietly: + +'I know _all_ about the quarrel, Uncle Ross. George has written to me. +The only thing I do not know is what became of Loring's letter to Uncle +Jack, for it was not delivered to him.' + +If Catherine had expected to break down the reserve of his manner, she +was disappointed. Ross Carmichael was bent upon enduring his position as +well as possible. + +'The letter came here after my brother's departure, and I omitted to +forward it. Had he sent for it at any time, he could have had it. It +lies in the locked drawer of a bureau in the hall.' + +'Will you let me take it to him?' + +'Certainly.' + +'Oh, uncle, George told me one sentence that is in it. Loring declared, +"It is entirely owing to Uncle Ross's secret persuasion that I left home +to enlist." Now that you know that Uncle Jack did not do you the injury +of influencing Loring to leave you, won't you forgive and be friends +with him again?' + +Catherine's voice was no longer calm. Her appeal was made in impassioned +tones, and her eyes were full of tears. + +The squire unclasped her hands from his arm and turned away. + +'If I am not mistaken, the--the position is changed between my brother +and myself. John will probably be indignant because I--did not trouble +to--to forward the letter. There was no absolute necessity for me to do +so; it was his affair that he left me and went to live by himself.' + +'Since you have wronged him, do you not wish to make amends to him?' + +'That will be done--at least, the wrong will be ended when you have +taken him the letter.' + +'No, uncle, for he cares far more for you than he ever cared for Loring. +He longs for your love again--your confidence. Will you not make some +advance to him, as he has made so many which you have ignored? Think--it +is in your power to make these later years of his life happy instead of +sad! Can you be so hard-hearted as not to do it?' + +The squire walked away to the window, where he stood, turning his back +upon his niece,--silently fighting with his feelings. + +Catherine watched him, and prayed. + +At last the answer came, in a voice unlike the squire's usual harsh +accents. + +'You shall take the letter, and you may tell John I--am sorry. I shall +be in Beverbridge this evening, at the club quite near you. You can send +for me if--if John wants me.' + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +As God Willed + + +'Let me be driven down, and let your carriage wait to bring Uncle Jack +back to you as soon as he has read Loring's letter. Don't you know him +better than to think that he will be content to wait to answer you until +this evening?' pleaded the girl, with an odd little choke in her voice. + +Her mission was almost accomplished, for there was not the least doubt +as to the nature of the reply one brother would make to the other. And +at that instant the unexpected happened. + +The library door opened, and the colonel himself stood on the threshold. +His gaze went past Catherine, to the tall, straight figure at the +window. + +'_Ross!_' + +'_John!_' + +The squire had turned; the two men stood looking at one another. The +younger advanced with his right hand outstretched: + +'Forgive me for coming, especially for forcing myself on you +unannounced. My excuse was a telegram for Catherine. James let me in. +Don't be angry with a faithful servant on my account. Ross, I've tried +before to make up the quarrel between us, but I have not tried _hard_ +enough. To-day I've been reproaching myself.' + +'God knows you have no cause, Jack!' + +The two right hands were clasped now. + +'I've been thinking a great deal about Loring, poor, dear fellow, and I +seem to have realised what a blow losing him was to you, Ross. You +wanted some one to be proud of, and he was worthy; and I, garrulous old +man that I was, persuaded him to long to be a soldier. It was a great +injury to you.' + +'Hush, John, you mustn't say so. I----' + +'I have come to speak my mind out. Let me do it. Have patience with me +just for a few moments. You refused my overtures towards reconciliation +a few times, Ross, and my pride kept me from offering any more. That was +where I was wrong--most wrong. I called myself a Christian, but my +conduct was utterly un-Christlike. _Pride?_ What is that between +brothers? We loved one another once, and it shall be no fault of mine if +our hearts are divided. And to-day I have been remembering the +exhortation, "Let brotherly love continue." Ross, if it is to end, it +shall not be by my fault. So I have come to ask your pardon for all the +ill I have ever done you, purposely or unconsciously.' + +'No, no, John. All the wrong has been mine. You will not want to ask my +pardon when you know all. I have deceived you, and----' + +Catherine heard no more, for she stole out of the room, leaving the +brothers together. + + * * * * * + +'And to-morrow we go home!' + +Agatha was the speaker. It was the evening of the same day, and she was +nestling in Catherine's arms. From the other little room across the hall +came the sound of voices. Uncle Jack and Uncle Ross were together there, +talking over the many memories they shared, making plans for their +future, agreeing to forget the past. + +'Yes,' agreed the elder girl, in the happiest of tones. 'You and I, Ted +and Toddie, even Harriet and Robert--we are all to leave the cottage for +the Hall. My dear little woman, your wish has come true. I am so very +glad.' + +'It is all your doing, Catherine. Oh, it is a lovely ending to the +family quarrel! I never saw guardian look as radiant as he does now. You +do believe I'm most pleased about that, don't you? I used to covet +comforts and money most dreadfully, but you've taught me to understand +how little joy they can give.' + +'You've grown a great deal wiser lately, dearie; but that is because you +have learned to love God.' + +'And I never should have known much about Him and His wonderful love for +us all, if you hadn't come to teach me, Catherine. Don't you feel proud +of all the good you've done? You've made me less horrid (I _was_ a +little wretch before you came). You've helped guardian to find peace in +religion; you've reconciled him and Uncle Ross; you've taken care of Ted +and Toddie, so that Mrs. Arderne can't be anxious about them. _When_ did +she say she was coming home?' + +'The telegram said, "Henry has been offered a good post. We come home in +a month's time."' + +'But you will live with us until you are married, won't you? You do not +mean to go back to be Mrs. Arderne's companion?' + +The squire and the colonel entered the room, arm-in-arm, and heard +Agatha's eager question. + +'My dear, Catherine has promised not to desert us,' said Uncle Ross with +a smile--'not until she marries. But as I mean Brian North to become +editor of _The Circle_ as soon as possible, her stay with us may not +last as long as we could wish for our own sakes.' + +'Oh, uncle, you _are_ good to me!' + +The squire turned to his brother. + +'Niece Catherine scarcely seems to know the value of the work she has +done for me, John. I am under an obligation to her which I can never +repay. Money is not of the immense value I believed it to be, my dear; +but I am thankful it can help you and Brian to be happy.' + +Catherine tried to express her feelings in words, but the task was a +difficult one. Her eyes were full of tears of joy as she looked from one +uncle to the other, as they stood side by side, smiling at one another. + +'God be blessed and praised for the mercy He has shown us, and the +manner in which He has taken away our trials!' said Uncle Jack. 'The +troubles are over for us all; it is well for us to remember the words, +"Let us love one another, for love is of God." Lassie, this is the +happiest day of my life!' + +'Even happier than the day when you first wore the Queen's uniform, +guardian?' asked Agatha. + +'Yes, dear,' answered the colonel. 'I was a young, untried fellow then. +It is when an old man, who has known sorrow, obtains his heart's desire, +that happiness is greatest. The light is dearer to those who have lived +in darkness.' + +'John, it was all my fault.' + +'No, no, Ross; we were both to blame.' + +Niece Catherine came forward and stood between them, radiantly smiling. + +'The past may be forgotten now, may it not, my dear uncles?' she asked. +'Since the family quarrel is dead, let it be buried.' + +'It is well for a man to remember his faults,' said Colonel Carmichael +firmly. 'I was un-Christian. I consider that my pride was----' + +'Nonsense, John!' interrupted the squire. 'As I have told you again and +again, the wrong was entirely my doing. The part of the quarrel _I_ +don't wish to forget is the fact that, after all, you came to +me,--though God knows I didn't deserve you should do it.' + +Niece Catherine listened to this friendly altercation, and knew that the +brothers would continue to loyally endeavour each to bear the greater +load of blame, and saw by their faces that their hearts were filled with +emotion which, being men, they felt obliged to master, the old quarrel +being mutually, forgiven, the old regard being not only renewed, but +increased. Her 'mission,' as Mrs. Arderne had named it, was indeed +accomplished; but she was certain that Uncle Jack had earned all praise +for the happy consummation. + +But Agatha, silent upon her couch, was remembering some verses of a poem +she had read that morning, and applying them to Catherine, her +heroine:-- + + 'Who toil aright, for those + Life's pathway, ere it close, + Is as the rose. + + The spires of wisdom stand, + Piled by the unconscious hand, + From grains of sand. + + And pleasure comes unsought, + To those who take but thought + For that they ought.' + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Niece Catherine, by Mary Hampden + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NIECE CATHERINE *** + +***** This file should be named 36880.txt or 36880.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/6/8/8/36880/ + +Produced by Delphine Lettaum, Mary Meehan and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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