hearing of
Gerald, Mr Twigg insisted on sending on board the _Ouzel Galley_ to
invite him, and Gerald afterwards found that in his eagerness to witness
the disappointment of his messmate he had thereby lost a pleasant
expedition, he having left the ship before the message arrived on board;
but, soon afterwards, who should come in but Captain Olding, who was so
delighted to find that his lieutenant and midshipman had escaped, that
he at once gave them both leave to accept Mr Twigg's invitation.
Norman Foley had the happiness of accompanying Ellen in one carriage,
while Mr Ferris and his friend, who had much to talk about, went in
another. Ellen was, of course, delighted with the scenery and the
tropical vegetation, so new to her, though she possibly did not examine
them as minutely as she might have done under other circumstances:
Norman would have to leave her in a day or two, and he might not return
for a long time. She had heard her father say that he expected shortly
to accompany Mr Twigg to an estate on the other side of the island, and
even should Norman's ship come into Port Royal, he might not be able to
pay her a visit. Of course he promised to come if he could, even though
he might be able to remain only a few hours. Bellevue was a beautiful
spot about fifty miles off, on the other side of the Blue Mountains, a
short distance from Saint Ann's Bay, and Norman hoped that his ship
might be cruising off the north coast, and that he would then have an
opportunity of seeing her. At all events, they neither of them were
more unhappy than was necessary at the thoughts of their approaching
separation.

On their arrival at East Mount, Mr Twigg's country house, Ellen was
amused by the number of black slaves who rushed out to receive them,
chattering and laughing, and doing their best to welcome the strangers.
The house was a one-storied building, with a broad verandah round it,
standing on the summit of a hill of considerable elevation overlooking
the plain, with Kingston and the harbour in the distance; it was thus
exposed to the sea breeze, so necessary to anything like enjoyment in
the tropics. Mrs Twigg, a buxom little lady--a fitting partner to her
sprightly, jovial spouse--received Ellen with a hearty welcome to
Jamaica. She evidently saw how matters stood between her and the young
lieutenant, and, as far as her sense of the duties of a hostess would
allow her, left them together as much as they could desire