At length, after much thought, during the last stage of the journey, he bade Malcolm ask Mrs.Bruce if she would leave her baby for a little and come into the earl's carriage, which message she obeyed at once.
These few weeks of companionship, not constant, but still sufficiently close, had brought them back very much into their old brother and sister relation, and though nothing had been distinctly said about it, Helen had accepted passively all the earl's generosity both for herself and her child.

Once or twice, when he had noticed a slight hesitation of uneasiness in her manner, Lord Cairnforth had said, "I promised him, you remember," and this had silenced her.

Besides she was too utterly worn out and broken down to resist any kindness.

She seemed to open her heart to it--Helen's proud, sensitive, independent heart--much as a plant, long dried up, withered, and trampled upon, opens itself to the sunshine and the dew.
But now her health, both of body and mind, had revived a little; and as she sat opposite him in her grave, composed widowhood, even the disguise of the black weeds could not take away a look that returned again and again, reminding the earl of the Helen of his childhood--the bright, sweet, wholesome-natured, high-spirited Helen Cardross.
"I asked you to come to me in the carriage," said he, after they had spoken a while about ordinary things.

"Before we reach home, I think we ought to have a little talk upon some few matters which we have never referred to as yet.