e will," said Mrs. Ray.

At this moment Rachel came down from her own room and joined them in
the parlour. She came in with that same look of sad composure on her
face, as though she were determined to speak nothing of her thoughts
to any one, and sat herself down near to her sister. In doing so,
however, she caught a glimpse of her mother's face, and saw that she
had been crying,--saw, indeed, that she was still crying at that
moment.

"Mamma," she said, "what is the matter;--has anything happened?"

"No, dear, nothing;--nothing has happened."

"But you would not cry for nothing. What is it, Dolly?"

"We have been talking," said Dorothea. "Things in this world are not
so pleasant in themselves that they can always be spoken of without
tears,--either outward tears or inward. People are too apt to think
that there is no true significance in their words when they say that
this world is a vale of tears."

"All the same. I don't like to see mamma crying like that."

"Don't mind it, Rachel," said Mrs. Ray. "If you will not regard me I
shall be better soon."

"I was saying that I thought I would come back to the cottage," said
Mrs. Prime; "that is, if mother likes it."

"But that did not make mamma cry."

"There were other things arose out of my saying so." Then Rachel
asked no further questions, but sat silent, waiting till her sister
should go.

"Of course we shall be very glad to have you back again if it suits
you to come," said Mrs. Ray. "I don't think it at all nice that a
family should be divided,--that is, as long as they are the same
family." Having received so much encouragement with reference to her
proposed return, Mrs. Prime took her departure and walked back to
Baslehurst.

For some minutes after they had been so left, neither Mrs. Ray nor
Rachel spoke. The mother sat rocking herself in her chair, and the
daughter remained motionless in the seat which she had taken when she
first came into the room. Their faces were not turned to each other,
but Rachel was so placed that she could watch her mother without
being observed. Every now and again Mrs. Ray would put her hand up to
her eyes to squeeze away the tears, and a low gurgling sound would
come from her, as though she were striving without success to repress
her sobs. She had thought that she would speak to Rachel when Mrs.
Prime was gone,--that she would confess her error in having sent
Rowan away, and implore her child to pardon her and to love