ooked at it for a moment. It was her last farewell; and
the yearning tenderness that stole into her face as she gazed and gazed
again brought the tears to Parker's eyes. The maid had taken a strong
liking to Miss Enid Vane, and was ready to devote her whole strength to
her service. At the same time, the thought of the revenge that Mrs. Vane
might wreak upon her for this desertion was misery to Parker; for what
should she do if her mother learned that she had once been dismissed
from a situation in disgrace, or if she could not earn enough to keep
her mother in the comfort to which she had grown accustomed? She was
quite ready and willing to leave Mrs. Vane; but she was afraid when she
considered the future; and, as she walked along the road beside her
young mistress, the tears now and then brimmed over, and had to be
surreptitiously wiped away.

"If you are regretting what you have done, Parker," said Enid at length,
"you are quite at liberty, you know, to go back to Beechfield Hall."

"Oh, no, miss--I wouldn't go back for anything! There's some things that
even a servant can't bear to see going on. It's only my poor mother,
miss, that I'm thinking about."

"Why?" said Enid gently--at that moment it was easy to her to sympathise
with sorrow. "Is it your wages that you are thinking of? I am sure that
you will not be a loser by coming with me."

"It's not the money, miss, thank you--it's--it's my character," said
Parker, with a sudden gush of tears--"it's what my mother may hear of me
that I care about! I wouldn't deceive you, miss, for the world! I'll
tell you about it, if you'll kindly hear."

And then, as the two women walked along the lonely country road in the
shining freshness of the early summer morning, Parker made her
confession. She told the story of her disgrace and summary dismissal, of
Mrs. Vane's apparent kindness to her, and of the way in which she had
been used as a tool in the furtherance of Mrs. Vane's designs. Enid
turned a shade paler as she heard of how she had been tracked, watched,
spied upon; but there was no anger in her voice as she replied.

"I think we ought both to be thankful, Parker, to get away just now from
Beechfield Hall. It will be better for us if we never see Mrs. Vane
again. I do not think that she will hurt you however, or tell your story
to your mother. She will have other things to think about just now."

Parker wondered vaguely what those other things were; but she did not