rs.
In manner he was very straight to the point and downright, but it was
not the downrightness which in nineteen cases out of twenty degenerates
into mere brusquerie. He and John Ames had taken to each other
wonderfully, and the old gentleman had already begun to look upon his
son-in-law as his own son.

"What I have got to say, child, is this," he went on; "and mind you, I
don't much like saying it. However, here it is. When you have done
your round on the Continent, why not come back here and make this your
home? I know the old argument against relations-in-law in the same
house and all that, but here it's different. You should both be as free
as air as far as I am concerned. You know I am not of the interfering
sort--indeed, you could have your own set of apartments, for the matter
of that. But when I bought this property to retire to in my old age, it
was with an eye to some such contingency, and--um--well, it could not
have befallen better. Well, what I was coming to is that it is a large
property and wants some looking after, and John will find plenty to do
in looking after it. He will have to look after it for himself and you
when my time is up, so may as well begin now."

But Nidia took the old man's face between her hands as he sat, and
stopped his utterance with a very loving kiss.

"Father, darling, don't say any more about relations-in-law and
interfering, and all that--bosh. Yes, bosh. _You_ interfering, indeed!
And for the matter of that, I know that John is awfully fond of you;
you get on splendidly together. Of course we will come back and take
care of you, and we'll all be as happy together as the day is long."

"God bless you, Nidia, child! Hallo! here he comes."

"Who?" asked Nidia, with a ripple of mirth over the inconsequence of the
remark--which certainly was funny.

"John, of course. He is a fine fellow, Nidia. Didn't know they grow
men like that in those parts"--with a very approving gaze at the
advancing figure of his son-in-law, who, strolling along the terrace,
was drinking in the lovely panorama of fair English landscape,
contrasting it, perchance, with certain weird regions of granite boulder
and tumbled rock and impenetrable thorn thicket. And here it may be
noted that, her present happiness notwithstanding, Nidia had by no means
forgotten her sad and terrible experiences, and there were times when
she would start up in her sleep wild-eyed and with a scream of horror,