Four days after Mr. Clendon had rescued her from the Wolf, Celia, who
had been listening daily for his footsteps, heard them on the stairs.
She ran down, and caught the old man by the hand.
"Oh, come in!" she said, excitedly. "I have something to tell you."
He looked at her flushed face, her eyes all alight now; but without a
smile, and with his usual impassiveness, he went to her room.
"The most wonderful thing has happened!" she exclaimed. "Oh, but first,
let me try to thank you! The people who brought the things would not
tell me who had sent them, but they insisted that everything was paid
for, and, of course, I knew the milk and the bread, and the groceries
and the rest of it, came from you."
"That is nothing," he said, with the simplicity of good breeding. "Tell
me of this wonderful news."
"It's the most extraordinary, the most miraculous news," she said, with
a long breath. "You remember that advertisement I showed you? Well,
there came an answer to it--an answer! Here it is." She handed him one
of several letters she had snatched up from the table. "It is from a
very great man, you see; but, of course, it is one of his secretaries
who writes. It is from a real live marquess!--Lord Sutcombe. Of course,
you have heard of him?"
Mr. Clendon nodded affirmatively.
"He is well known."
"Though I had no hope of getting the situation, I sent some letters of
poor Mr. Bishop's as testimonials, and this morning--oh, it is almost
incredible--I received this letter, informing me that my testimonials
were satisfactory, and that I had obtained the post. And what do you
think it is? Oh, the most delightful of all work--the very thing I
would have chosen! It is to arrange, and catalogue, and generally take
care of a large library. And the salary--this is the most wonderful
part of the whole fairy tale--is to be £150 a year. Think of it!
One--hundred--and-fifty--pounds a year!"
"It is a very good salary," said Mr. Clendon. "I congratulate you."
She laid her hand on the wrinkled one which rested on his stick.
"But don't you think it is quite extraordinary? Surely one does not
usually get such a post as this so easily as I have done! There is a
kind of magic in it. You"--she looked at him keenly, searchingly--"Mr.
Clendon, have you had any hand in this?"