"
"She will let it, of course?"
"I suppose so."
"You don't think she will come to the christening?"
"I cannot tell; Rose has had one or two very sad letters from her.
She wanted us very much to come to Dunstone, and was much
disappointed that we were prevented. I fancy her heart has turned
to us, and that it is very sore, poor thing."
Julius was right. Cecil did return an answer, whose warmth quite
amazed all but Miles and Anne, who thought nothing too much for
their son; and she gladly came to attend the christening of the
young Raymond. Gladly--yes, she was glad to leave Dunstone. She
had gone home weary and sick of her lodging and convalescence, and
hoping to find relief in the home that had once been all-sufficient
for her, but Dunstone was not changed, and she was. She had not
been able to help outgrowing its narrow opinions and formal
precisions; and when she came home, crushed with her scarcely
realized grief, nothing there had power to comfort her.
There was soothing at first in her step-mother's kindness, and she
really loved her father; but their petting admiration soon grew
oppressive, after the more bracing air of Compton; and their
idolatry of her little brother fretted and tried her all the more,
because they thought he must be a comfort to her, and any slight
from her might be misconstrued.
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