Fervent expressions of gratitude followed, addressed to
Lady Janet. "I owe it to you," the letter concluded, "that I am
dying with my mind at ease about the future of my darling girl.
To your generous protection I commit the one treasure I have left
to me on earth. Through your long lifetime you have nobly used
your high rank and your great fortune as a means of doing good. I
believe it will not be counted among the least of your virtues
hereafter that you comforted the last hours of an old soldier by
opening your heart and your home to his friendless child."
So the letter ended. Mercy laid it down with a heavy heart. What
a chance the poor girl had lost! A woman of rank and fortune
waiting to receive her--a woman so merciful and so generous that
the father's mind had been easy about the daughter on his
deathbed--and there the daughter lay, beyond the reach of Lady
Janet's kindness, beyond the need of Lady Janet's help!
The French captain's writing-materials were left on the table.
Mercy turned the letter over so that she might write the news of
Miss Roseberry's death on the blank page at the end. She was
still considering what expressions she should use, when the sound
of complaining voices from the next room caught her ear.
Pages:
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56