She at last made up her mind that she would take Cornelius home without giving her father the opportunity of saying he should not come. She would presume that he must go home after such an illness. The result she would let take care of itself, even though the first meeting between father and son could in no case be a happy one.

With gentle watchfulness she regarded Amy, and was more and more satisfied that she could have had no hand in the wrongdoing. But she could not believe that had Amy known before she married him what kind of person Cornelius was, she would have given herself to him. It hardly occurred to her how nearly the man she had once accepted stood on the same level of manhood. But Amy was the wife of Cornelius, and that made an eternal difference. Her duty was as plain as Hester’s—and the same—to do the best for him!

When he was able to be moved, Hester brought them into the house, and placed them in a comfortable room. She then moved the Frankses into the room they had left, giving it over to them, for a time at least. With their own entrance through the cellar, they would be able to live there as they wished. Hester’s only stipulation was that they were to let her know if they found themselves in any difficulty. And now, for the first time in her life, Hester wished she had some financial resources of her own so she might act with freedom.

—Thirty-Six —

Miss Vavasor

About three weeks after lord Gartley’s call, during which he had left a good many of his calling cards in Addison Square, Hester received the following letter from Miss Vavasor:

My dear Miss Raymount:

I am very anxious to see you, but fear it is hardly safe to call upon you yet. I do not want to willingly be the bearer of infection into my own circle, but I must communicate with you somehow, for your own sake as well as Gartley’s, who is pining away for lack of the sunlight of your eyes. I will leave the matter entirely in your judgment. If you tell me you consider yourself out of quarantine, I will come to you at once. If you do not, will you propose something, for we must meet.

Hester pondered the matter well before returning an answer. She replied that it was impossible to say there was no danger, for her brother, who had been ill, was still in the house, too weak for the journey to Yrndale. She would rather suggest that they meet in some quiet corner of one of the parks. She need hardly add that she would take every precaution against carrying infection.

The proposal proved acceptable to Miss Vavasor. She wrote suggesting a time and place. Hester agreed, and they met.

Hester appeared on foot. Miss Vavasor, who had remained seated in her carriage, got down as soon as she saw her, and advanced to meet her with a smile. She was perfect in surface hospitality.