"I am much afraid," added the Colonel, looking over the papers, "that it
explains the marriage--and then Keith did not allow her as much as she
expected."
"Oh, Colonel Keith, don't!" cried Rachel; "it is just the one thing
where I could not bear to believe Alick. She was so dear and beautiful,
and spoke so rightly."
"To believe Alick!" repeated the Colonel, as Rachel's voice broke down.
"I thought--I ought not to have thought--he was hard upon her--but
he knew better," said Rachel, "of course he did not know of all this
dreadful business!"
"Assuredly not," said the Colonel, "that is self-evident, but as you
say, I am afraid he did know his poor sister's character better than we
did, when he came to warn me against the marriage."
"Did he? Oh how much it must have cost him."
"I am afraid I did not make it cost him less. I thought he judged her
harshly, and that his illness had made him magnify trifles, but though
our interference would have been perfectly useless, he was quite right
in his warning. Now that, poor thing, she is no longer here to enchant
us with her witcheries, I see that my brother greatly suffered from
being kept away from home, and detained in this place, and that she left
him far more alone than she ought to have done."
"Yes, Alick thought so, but she had such good reasons, I am sure she
believed them herself."
"If she had not believed them, she could not have had such perfect
sincerity of manner," said the Colonel; "she must have persuaded at
least one half of herself that she was acting for every one's good
except her own."
"And Mr. Clare, whom Alick always thought she neglected, never felt it.
Alick says he was too unselfish to claim attention."
"I never doubted her for one moment till I came home, on that unhappy
day, and found how ill Keith was. I did think then, that considering
how much she had seen of Alick while the splinters were working out,
she ought to have known better than to talk of sciatica; but she made
me quite believe in her extreme anxiety, and that she was only going
out because it was necessary for her to take care of you on your first
appearance. How bright she looked, and how little I thought I should
never see her again!"
"Oh, she meant what she said! She always was kind to me! Most kind!"
repeated Rachel; "so considerate about all the dreadful spring--not one
word did she say to vex me about the past! I am sure she did go out on
that day as much to shelter me as for anything else. I can't bear to
think all this--here in this pretty room that she had such pleasure
in; where she made me so welcome, after all my disagreeableness and
foolishness."