A great wave of joy swept over her bewildered face. "So God has sent me
the fulfilment of my dream!" she said softly. And John Randolph
understood.
That evening she wrote to Mrs. Everidge.
"Dear Aunt Marthe,--The King's work is waiting for you in Marlborough.
The work that we used to long for--the joy of lifting the shadows from
the hearts of the heavy laden--God has given to you and me!"
* * * * *
"Why should you not come to 'The Willows'?"
John Randolph put the question one afternoon, as they were enjoying Miss
Diana's hospitality in the fragrant porch. Evadne had just finished a
merry recital of their woes.
"We have looked at houses until we are fairly distracted, Aunt Marthe
and I. One had a cellar kitchen, and I am not going to have my good Dyce
buried in a cellar kitchen; and one had no bathroom, and another was all
stairs; and they are all nothing but brick and mortar with a scrap of
sky between. I want trees and water and fields. The poor souls have
enough of masonry in their daily lives."
"I believe it is decreed that you should come here," he continued, after
the first exclamations of surprise were over. "It is just the work our
lady delights in, and she cannot be left alone. Dick goes to College
next month and I must live in town. The house is beautiful for
situation, and a threefold cord of love and faith cannot easily be
broken."
He looked round upon them, this man who found his joy in helping others,
and waited for their answer.
"It would be beautiful, beautiful!" cried Evadne, "if Miss
Chillingworth were willing. But the house is not large enough, Doctor
Randolph, we shall need three or four guest chambers, you know."
"Nothing easier than to build an addition," said John, with the quiet
reserve of power which always made his patients believe in the
impossible.
Evadne laid her hand upon Miss Chillingworth's--"Dear Miss Diana," she
said gently, "you do not say 'No' to us; do you think you could ever
find it in your heart to say 'Yes'? I know it must seem a terrible
innovation, but we could never have imagined anything half so
delightful, Aunt Marthe and I. The atmosphere--outdoors and in--is
perfection!"
Miss Diana looked at the sparkling face and then at Mrs. Everidge with
her gentle smile. "I find myself _very_ glad," she said, "since I have
to lose my boys, but do you think we had better make any definite plans,
dear, until we have talked it over with the Lord?"
And John Randolph said to Evadne with eyes that were suspiciously
bright; "It is impossible for anyone to get very far from the Kingdom,
when they live with our Lady Di."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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