no one now with any head about me since my last maid left.'

And Mrs. Fairchild stayed--not that evening only, but all night, sending
Celestina home to explain matters to her father.

CHAPTER XI

AND ITS CONSEQUENCES

'"Love will make the lesson light.
... Teach me how to learn it right,"
Through her tears smiled Daisy.'--ANON.

For Mrs. Vane's troubles came thickly just then. Before night it was
evident that both Biddy and her father were not to escape all bad
results from the chill and wetting; and the Seacove doctor, who was sent
for at once, looked grave, shook his head as he murmured that it was no
doubt most unfortunate. He would say nothing decided beyond giving some
simple directions till he should see how the patients were the next day.
Biddy, after a violent fit of crying, which came on when she found her
father could not come 'to say good-night,' and begging, among her sobs,
to be forgiven, fell asleep, and slept heavily, to wake again in an hour
or two, feverish, restless, and slightly delirious. This, however, was
on the whole less alarming, for very little will make a child
light-headed, than Mr. Vane's condition. There was no sleep for him,
poor man; he was racked with pain and terribly awake--nervously anxious
to know the ins and outs of Biddy's escapade, and to soften it as much
as possible in her mother's eyes. Mrs. Vane kept her promise of being
very gentle with Biddy, and indeed, when in her room, and seeing the
poor little thing so ill, it was not difficult to be so. But once away
from her, and in sight of her husband's sufferings, the irritation
against Biddy grew almost too great to keep down. And Mrs. Vane was not
very good at keeping down or keeping in her feelings, and each time she
burst out it seemed to make Mr. Vane worse. There was no going to bed
for either her or Mrs. Fairchild that night; indeed, what she would have
done without Celestina's wise and gentle mother I do not know. It was
she who sensibly made the best of it all, soothing Mrs. Vane, who really
needed it almost as much as Biddy and her father; and the only snatches
of sleep Mr. Vane got were when her soft and pleasant voice had been
reading aloud to him.

'I don't know how to thank you,' said Biddy's mother tearfully the next
morning early, when she at last persuaded Mrs. Fairchild to lie down a
little. 'Can't you stay all day to rest?'

But Mrs. Fairchild shook her head, s