I am afraid she may be
snapped up by some plausible fortune-hunter."
Bertie frowned slightly. "I trust she may be guided to happiness with
some good, God-fearing man," he said, and then, he bid his sister
good-night somewhat abruptly.
Meantime, Katherine sat plunged in thought beside the fire in her
bedroom. She was not given to weeping, but she was profoundly sad. To
find herself again in London without her mother seemed to renew the
intense grief which had indeed lost but little of its keenness. Never
had a mother been more terribly missed. They had been such sympathetic
friends, such close companions; they had had such a hearty respect for
and appreciation of each other's qualities, such a pleasant
comprehension of each other's different tastes, that it would be hard to
fill the place of the dear, lost comrade with whom she had hitherto
walked hand in hand. It soothed her to think of the delightful
tranquility Mrs. Liddell had enjoyed for the last two years, of the
untroubled sweetness of their intercourse, of her mother's last
contented words: "I am quite happy, dear. Your future is secure, and you
have never given me a moment's pain. We have had such delightful days
together!"
How could she have borne to have seen a pained, anxious look--such a
look as was once familiar to them--in those dear eyes, as they closed
forever on this mortal scene! Oh, thank God for the heavenly security of
those last days whatever the price she had paid for them!
Motherless, she was utterly desolate.
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