The elder lady troubled her with no questions; but soon after they reached home she came into the room where Ida sat, and as she left the door open the girl saw Gregory go down the stairway with a letter in his hand.

He met his sister near the foot of it, and his voice, which seemed a trifle strained, came up to Ida clearly.
"I'll just run out and post this.

I've told those people that I'll go as soon as they like," he said.
Then Mrs.Kinnaird quietly closed the door before she crossed the room and sat down near the girl.
"It's rather hard to bear," she said.

"Perhaps I feel it the more because Arabella will leave me soon." The woman's quietness troubled Ida, and her eyes grew hazy.
"Oh," she said, "though it isn't quite my fault, how you must blame me.

It's most inadequate, but I can only say that I'm very sorry." "I suppose what you told Gregory is quite irrevocable ?" inquired her companion.
Ida saw the tense anxiety in the woman's eyes, and her answer cost her an effort.
"Yes, quite," she said.