The Carved Cupboard | Page 3

of bewilderment at the
thought of the charge of four orphan children, my mother said to her,
"Oh, well, Mildred, if you are good enough to educate them, they will
naturally do something later to relieve you of the burden of maintaining
them." And my wife and I have been so surprised at your all continuing
to look upon her house as your rightful home. I suppose in the
goodness of her heart she insisted upon it. Still, nowadays, young ladies
are so independent, and have such a wide scope for their talents, that
we quite expected to hear you were supporting yourselves, after the
liberal education that you have received.'
There was dead silence after this speech, which Gwen broke at last, and
her tone was haughtiness itself.
'As you have met with such success in your visit here, Cousin James,
you could at least afford to be generous towards us. You have one
mercy to be thankful for, and that is, that we never have, and never
shall, look to you to maintain us!'
And then she left the room, shutting the door behind her with a rather
ungentle hand. Mr. Dane smiled, passed his cup to be refilled, and then
turned to Clare.
'I suppose your marriage will be hastened now, will it not? When is the
happy day to be?'
'I will let you know when it is settled,' was the quiet reply.
'Come upstairs with me, Clare, and see Nannie,' said Elfie impetuously;
'I haven't been near her yet, dear old thing!'
The two girls quitted the room together, and with a little sigh Agatha
settled herself down to a tête-à-tête with her cousin.
'You girls have all assumed such aggressive demeanours towards me,

that I really hardly know if you will take any advice from me. It is
exceedingly foolish to adopt such airs. No doubt you are disappointed
in not being the sole heiresses of our aunt, but you ought not to have
expected it for a moment. She had for a long time regretted making that
rash will, which was drawn up when her heart was full of pity for your
penniless condition. Only, being in such robust health, she always put
off doing it until this last sad illness of hers. Where do you think of
settling?'
'We have not made up our minds.'
'Have you heard from your brother lately? Is he doing better than he
was? It is such a mistake for a young fellow to think he will make his
fortune in the Colonies nowadays. I only hope you may not find him
thrown on your hands soon.'
'Walter is doing very well, thank you. There is no chance of his coming
back to England for a good long time.'
'I have been wondering whether you would like to settle somewhere
near London. I have some house property at Hampstead, and could let
you have a small villa there at a very reasonable rent. Of course,
understand, this is entirely because I should like to give you any help
that I can.'
At this Agatha could not help smiling.
'It is very kind of you, but we have decided to live in the country.'
'I am surprised. Have you ever tried a country life in the winter? I am
afraid you will find it a great failure. And, remember, unprotected
females, choosing an isolated position, run the risk of being robbed. If
you do go to the country, be sure and get a house near others. Well, I
must be going. Say good-bye to the others for me. I shall look in again
on you before long, and if you want me, you know my club. Your
cousin Helen has left town, and I shall be taking a trip to the Continent
with her very soon.'

He rose, shook hands politely, and directly the door closed upon him,
Agatha hastened to find her sisters.
She knew where to look for them. In a small room at the end of the
passage past the best bedrooms, Nannie would now be taking her
afternoon cup of tea. She had been with them all since they were quite
tiny children; had brought them over from India after their parents'
death, and had been kept in Miss Dane's service ever since--first as
their nurse, then as housekeeper, when they no longer needed her care.
She was an old woman now, crippled with rheumatism; but she was a
bright and happy Christian, and had a good influence upon all who
came in contact with her. It had been already arranged that she was to
go into an alms-house when the house was sold, and Miss Dane had left
her a small legacy, so that her future was provided for. Agatha's face as
she opened the