n
England.

Most winters Jacinth spent some part of with her at Basse, and sometimes
Camilla or Bessie replaced her. One year the whole Mildmay family joined
her for two months. So there were many pleasant mitigations of her
enforced banishment, though it gradually became impossible for those who
had learned to love her so dearly to blind themselves to the fact that
the gentle old woman was not far from the end of her chequered and at
one time lonely life.

And one day in the early spring-time, when the sunshine was already warm
and the sky already deeply blue in the genial south, when the snowdrops
were raising their pretty timid heads in the garden at Robin Redbreast,
and the birds were beginning to hope that the winter was over and gone,
Lady Myrtle died. There was no one with her at the time. Captain Harper
had left her but the week before, and Jacinth Mildmay was to have joined
her a few days later.

'If I could but have been with her, mamma,' said the girl among her
tears.

But perhaps it was better not. To some natures the sorrow of others is
very hard to see, and I think Lady Myrtle was one of those. Jacinth was
nineteen at the time of her old friend's death. Two years of Colonel
Mildmay's time at Barmettle had yet to expire.

'We shall miss our summers at Robin Redbreast sadly, mamma, shall we
not?' she said one day. 'What is to be done about it? Is it to be sold,
or are the Harpers to have it? I hope so. Does papa know?'

'He has only heard about it recently,' said her mother. 'He and Captain
Harper are Lady Myrtle's executors, but there has been a good deal of
trouble and delay, for owing to her death having taken place abroad,
some difficulties occurred about proving the will. But now I believe all
is right, and your father is going to tell you about it.'

At that moment the door opened and Colonel Mildmay came in. He glanced
at his wife with a half-inquiry in his eyes when he saw that she and his
daughter were talking seriously.

'Yes,' replied Mrs Mildmay to his unspoken question, 'I was just saying
to Jacinth that you were going to explain to her about our dear old
friend's disposal of things.'

'I happened to ask mamma if the Harpers were going to live at Robin
Redbreast,' said Jacinth. 'Somehow I hadn't thought about it before.'

'It must have been a "brain wave,"' said her father, 'for only this
morning I decided to have a talk with you about it.'

Jacinth looked up with a slight feeling