me to the
door; and half to the Rector's relief, half to his embarrassment, the
General himself walked in.

"Ah, thank Heaven, she is here!" were the old man's first words. "We
thought she was lost, Mr. Evandale--we did indeed. I met your messenger
on the way to the Hall, and sent him on for the carriage. A pretty time
you've given us, young lady!" he said, smiling at Enid and pinching her
chin, and then grasping the Rector's hand with a look of relief and
gratitude which told its own story.

"Miss Vane has been a good deal distressed and upset," said Mr.
Evandale. "She was at Mrs. Meldreth's bedside when the old woman died
this afternoon, and the scene was naturally very painful. I brought her
here that she might rest and recover herself a little before going
home."

He wanted to explain and simplify matters for Enid's benefit; he had
grasped the fact that her uncle's entrance was making her exceedingly
nervous. He put it down to fear of the General's anger, but it
afterwards occurred to him that Mrs. Meldreth's confession might, for
some reason or other, be the cause of her agitation. Certainly her
distress and confusion were at that moment very marked. She had risen
from her seat at his entrance, her color changing to crimson and then to
dead white more than once during the Rector's speech. It settled at last
into a painful pallor, which so impressed the General that he did not
even administer the gentle rebuke which he had intended Enid to receive
for her infringement of the rules on which her life was based. He could
not scold her when she stood before him, pale to the very lips, her
eyelids cast down, her hands joined together and nervously trembling, a
very embodiment of conscious guilt and shame.

"Bless my soul, she does look upset, and no mistake!" he exclaimed, in
his hearty and impulsive way. "Come, my dear--don't be so miserable
about it! I daresay you did not know how late it was, and the poor woman
could not be left. Yes, I quite understand; and I will explain it all to
your aunt. Sit down and rest until the carriage comes, as the Rector
does not mind our invasion of his study."

Mr. Evandale made some polite but slightly incoherent rejoinder, to
which nobody listened, for the General's attention was at that moment
completely monopolised by Enid, who on feeling his arm around her,
suddenly hid her white face on his shoulder and burst into tears.

"Oh, uncle," she sobbed, "you are so kind--so good!