an wait patiently
till you shall bid me come again."

Laying her hand upon his shoulder, Allison whispered softly:

"Will you wait till the year is over, John?"

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE.

"And I will come again, my love,
Though 'twere ten thousand mile."

A year and a day Mr Rainy had given to Allison Bain, in which to
reconsider her decision as to her refusal to be benefited by the
provisions of Brownrig's will, and now the year was drawing to a close.
"The next of kin" had signified his intention of returning to Scotland
immediately, and as he was an officer in the army, who might be sent on
short notice to any part of the empire, it was desirable that he should
know as soon as might be, what chance there was of his inheriting the
property which his uncle had left.

Mr Rainy had written cautiously to this man at first. He had had
little doubt that Brownrig's widow, as he always called Allison in his
thoughts, would be brought to her senses and hear reason, before the
year was out. So he had not given the next of kin much encouragement to
believe that more than his five hundred pounds would fall to his share.

It was a matter of conscience with Mr Rainy. Whatever any one else
might think or say, or whatever his own private opinion might be, it was
clearly his duty to use all diligence in carrying out the expressed
wishes of the testator. In the meantime he left Allison to herself,
believing that frequent discussion would only make her--womanlike--hold
the more firmly to her first determination.

But after all was said and done, this "troublesome business," which had
caused care and anxiety to several people besides Allison, was brought
to a happy end. Mr Rainy's house was the place appointed for the
meeting of all those who had anything to do with the matter, either
officially or otherwise; and on the day named, shy and anxious, but
quite determined as to what she was to say and do, Allison took her way
thither. She told herself that she would have at least one friend
there. Doctor Fleming had promised not to fail her, and though he had
never spoken many words to her about the will, she knew that he would
stand by her in the decision to which she had come. She had confidence
in his kindness and consideration. No word to deride her foolishness
would fall from his lips, and even Mr Rainy's half-contemptuous
expostulations would be restrained by the good doctor's presence.

She reached the house at