But no one in the house felt as anxious about her as Hetty.

During the pleasant weeks that had lately passed over her head Hetty had been more drawn to her benefactress than she had ever been before.

No longer snubbed and neglected in strange uncomfortable places, she had, in becoming more happy, also become more loving.

She knew that she owed all the enjoyments of her present life to Mrs.Rushton, and if she was not allowed to be much in the company of her adopted mother she thought it was not because she was forgotten, but because Mrs.Rushton was too ill to see her.

She believed herself really very greatly beloved by her benefactress, and had begun to love her very much in return.