I suppose it will be necessary to have a kind of foreman or manager of some sort there; and it has occurred to me that Mrs.Clarkson might take him as a lodger.

But before that can be done, the house would have to be enlarged and several alterations made.

I must consult William about it." Both Mrs.Costello and Mrs.Bellairs were surprised to hear the young widow speaking with so much of her old spirit and decision.

The fact was that the consciousness that there was something to be done for others had made Bella aware that, in spite of her aching heart, she was still able to do what duties remained to her; and without hesitation, or, indeed, any thought about the matter, she was prepared to take upon herself the management of her own affairs, and to change her brother-in-law's position from that of guardian, resumed since her widowhood, to that of adviser only.

In the very depths of her misery she had passed her twenty-first birthday, so that now she would have had in any case the right of acting for herself.