deleur was much better
she must not be troubled about housekeeping or anything for a long time,
and besides this, there was a new responsibility upon him, which he
would tell granny about afterwards. He meant the care of the two boys,
but he did not speak of them then.

Some part of this, grandmamma told me that very evening; she also told
me how sorry her nephew was about his long silence, though, as I think I
said before, he _had_ written and got no answer,--a letter which she had
never received.

Here I find I must change my plan a little after all, and go into
conversation again. For as I am writing there comes back to me one part
of our talk that evening so clearly, that I think I can remember almost
every word.

We had got as far as grandmamma telling me most of what I have now
written down, but still I did not see why the letter had so upset her or
why she had whispered something to herself about being 'thankful.'

'Well,' I said, 'I am glad he has written if it pleases you, grandmamma.
But I don't think I want ever to see him.'

'You must not be prejudiced, Helena dear,' she answered. 'I think it
very likely you will see him, and before very long. I have not yet told
you what he proposes. He wants us to go to--to pay him a long visit in
London. He says I should be a very great help to him and Agnes--Agnes is
his wife--as I could take charge of things for her.'

'Of course you would be a great help,' I said. 'But I think it is rather
cool of him to expect you to give up your own home and go off there just
to be of use to them.'

Grandmamma sighed. She did not want to tell me too much of her
increasing anxiety about money, and yet without doing so it was
difficult for her to make me understand how really kind Mr. Vandeleur's
proposal was, and how it had not come a day too soon.

'There are more reasons than that for my accepting his invitation,' she
said. 'It will be of advantage to us in many ways not to spend the
coming winter here, but in a warm, large house. If we had weather like
last year I should dread it very much. London is on the whole very
healthy in winter, in spite of the fogs. And you are growing old enough
to take in new ideas, Helena, and to benefit by seeing something more of
life.'

I felt very strange, almost giddy, with the thought of such a change.

'Do you really mean, grandmamma,' I said, 'that--that you are thinking
of going there _soon_?'

'Very soon,' she answered, 'almost a