he stretched out both
hands, pressed Colin's convulsively, then turned away her face, and,
bursting into tears, ran out of the room.

"Poor dear Ailie," said Ermine; "she has suffered terribly. Her heart is
full of Edward. Oh, I hope he will come."

"He must. He cannot be so senseless as to stay away."

"There is that unfortunate promise to his wife; and I fear that he is
become so much estranged from English ways that he will hardly care to
set himself straight here, after the pain that the universal suspicion
gave him."

"He cannot but care. For the sake of all he must care," vehemently
repeated Colin, with the punctilious honour of the nobly-born soldier.
"For his child's sake, this would be enough to bring him from his grave.
If he refused to return to the investigation, it would be almost enough
to make me doubt him."

"I am glad you said almost," said Ermine, trying to smile; but he had
absolutely brought tears into her eyes.

"Dear Ermine," he said, gently, "you need not fear my not trusting
him to the utmost. I know that he has been too much crushed to revive
easily, and that it may not be easy to make him appreciate our hopes
from such a distance; but I think such a summons as this must bring
him."

"I hope it will," said Ermine. "Otherwise we should not deserve that you
should have any more to do with us."

"Ermine, Ermine, do you not know that nothing can make any difference
between us?"

Ermine had collected herself while he spoke.

"I know," she said, "that all you are doing makes me thank and bless
you--oh! more than I can speak."

He looked wistfully at her, but, tearful as were her eyes, there was a
resolution, about her face that impressed upon him that she trusted to
his promise of recurring no more within the year to the subject so near
his heart; and he could say no more than, "You forgive me, Ermine, you
know I trust him as you do."

"I look to your setting him above being only trusted," said Ermine,
trying to smile. "Oh! if you knew what this ray of hope is in the dreary
darkness that has lasted so long!"

Therewith he was obliged to leave her, and she only saw him for a few
minutes in the morning, when he hurried in to take leave, since, if
matters went right at the magistrates' bench, he intended to proceed
at once to make such representations in person to Mr. Beauchamp and Dr.
Long, as might induce them to send an urgent recall to Edward in time
for the spring sessions, and for