e consciousness of imposture
weighed heavily upon her, and seemed to herself to colour every word she
uttered. She did not stay long; and making a circuit in order to pass
the jail again, in hopes of meeting her mother, she walked sadly and
thoughtfully through the winter twilight towards home. In passing
through the town she noticed an unusual stir of people; groups of men
stood in the streets or round the shop doors talking together, but it
was a time of some political excitement, and the inhabitants of Cacouna
were keen politicians, so that there might be no particular cause for
that.

Mr. Strafford was more than half expected at the Cottage that evening.
The boat might be in by five, and it was nearly that time when Lucia
reached home, so she took off her walking-things, and applied herself at
once to making the house look bright and comfortable to welcome him,
all the while listening with some anxiety for the sound of her mother's
return. But Mrs. Costello did not come, and Lucia began to think that
she must have gone to the wharf to meet Mr. Strafford, and that they
would arrive together. She made Margery bring in the tea-things, and had
spent no small trouble in coaxing the fire into its very brightest and
warmest humour, the chairs into the cosiest places, and the curtains to
hang so that there should not be the slightest suspicion of a draught,
when at last the welcome sound of the gate opening was heard, and she
ran to the door; there indeed stood Mr. Strafford, but alone.

Lucia forgot her welcome, and greeted him with an exclamation of
surprise and disappointment; then suddenly recollecting herself, she
took him into the bright sitting-room and explained why she was
astonished to see him alone.

"I came straight from the wharf," he said, "and have seen nothing of
Mrs. Costello, but I will walk back along the road and meet her."

This, however, Lucia would not hear of.

"Margery shall go a little way," she said; "mamma cannot be long now."

So Margery went, while Mr. Strafford questioned Lucia as to all she
knew of Christian's condition. She told him, with little pauses of
listening between her sentences, for she was growing every moment more
uncontrollably anxious. At length both started up, for the tinkle of
sleigh bells was heard coming up the lane. Again Lucia flew to the door,
and opened it just as the sleigh stopped.

"Mamma!" she cried, "are you there?" and to her inexpressible relief she
was a