Masie is his child, I know.

But what I say is that the mother is stamped all over the darling, and that Otto can't put a finger on any part and call it his own." Whether Kitty were right or wrong regarding the mystery is no part of our story, but certain it was that the soul of the unhappy young mother looked through the daughter's eyes, that the sweetness of the child's voice was hers, and the grace of every movement a direct inheritance from one whose frail spirit had taken so early a flight.
To Felix this companionship, with the glimpses it gave him of a child's heart, refreshed his own as a summer rain does a thirsty plant.

Had she been his daughter, or his little sister, or his niece, or grandchild, a certain sense of responsibility on his part and of filial duty on hers would have clouded their perfect union.

He would have had matters of education to insist upon--perhaps of clothing and hygiene.

She would have had her secrets--hidden paths on which she wandered alone--things she could never tell to one in authority.