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Miss Roberta sad falling off from dignity had her thin bones covered with a habit shirt of tulle, because she was altogether a poorer creature than her sister, and felt the cold badly. Both ladies wore ringlets at the sides of their faces and little caps of ribbon and lace. Even within Halcyone's memory, the dining-room had lost some of its adornments.
In this particular journal the notice was merely the brief one of the evening before, but it was enough to wring Halcyone's heart. She bounded from bed and got Priscilla to dress her in the shortest possible time, and the faithful nurse, seeing that her beloved lamb was in some deep distress, forbore to question her.
As far as Cheiron was concerned he was wiped off the list of beings who count. Halcyone's delicate sense of obligation had been put at ease by her stepfather. He had made over to her a few hundreds a year which he said had belonged to her mother the simple creature was too ignorant of all business to be aware whether this was or was not the case.
The fact of his own unhappiness filled his mind to the exclusion of any other thought for the time. In his dire physical weakness Cecilia Cricklander's gracious beauty seemed to augment, and Halcyone's sylph-like charm to grow of less potent force. For Love had not done all that he would yet do with John Derringham's soul.
He never did anything in a hurry, and felt that now he must especially consider what would be his wisest course. And then, this next morning, Halcyone's letter had come. It was very simple. It told of Mrs. Anderton's arrival at La Sarthe Chase and of her own return to London with her and then the real pith of it had crept out. Had he heard any news of Mr. Derringham?
It burnt his sight when he looked at it now. For had he been "good and true"? Alas! No nothing but a sensual, ambitious weakling. The Professor and his protégée spent the whole of that July wandering in Brittany going from one old-world spot to another. There had not been much opposition raised by Mr. and Mrs. Anderton to Halcyone's accompanying her old master.
They came back to the second terrace and started upon their quest. Mr. Carlyon had the greatest difficulty in keeping his old head bent to get through the very low part of the dark arched place, and he held Halcyone's hand. But at last they emerged into the one light spot and there saw the breastplate and the box.
Halcyone's face fell. "You promised to teach me Greek," she said simply, "and I know from my 'Heroes' that is all that I need necessarily learn from anyone to acquire the other things myself." This seemed to Mr. Carlyon a very conclusive answer his bent of mind found it logical. "Very well," he said. "When shall we begin?" "Perhaps to-morrow.
"Queen Mab and the elves live there in May and early June," she said. "They dance every afternoon as the sun sets, and sometimes in the dawn, too, and the early morning. You can see them if you keep quite still." "Naturally," said Cheiron. "Do you know, since last winter I have had a great pleasure," and Halcyone's grave, intent eyes looked up into the old gentleman's face.
It was always, "your poor sainted mother in heaven," or, "your blessed pretty mother" and with that instinctive knowledge of the feelings of other people which characterized Halcyone's point of view, she had avoided questioning her old nurse.
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