"Lady Mary is too ill to travel. Sir Thomas thinks he can get me a proper companion. If not, mother, I shall go alone. I will not let anything disappoint me again." "You will be talked of from Dan to Beersheba." "I shall be doing nothing wrong, and I shall be happy. Let them talk." In the morning Sir Thomas was in the drawing-room at ten o'clock, and Isabel, in a pretty lavender lawn gown, went with a smile to meet him. He looked at her with delight, and said: "I have found you a companion--one that will take the greatest care of you. It is myself. I will trust you with no one else." "But, Sir Thomas," and she attempted to draw her hand out of his. "No, no," he said, clasping it still tighter. "Sit here by my side, and listen to what I say. I love you dearly, wisely, with all my heart. I will make you Lady Wynton to-morrow, if you desire it, and you and I--you and I--will take all those excellently planned journeys together. We will travel slowly and comfortably, luxuriously when we can; we will see everything worth seeing. We will take a long, long honeymoon trip, all over the world. Say 'yes,' Isabel. May I call you Isabel?" "Yes." "My Isabel." "I am your sincere friend." "My wife! I want you for my wife." "A wedding means a great deal of trouble. It would keep me back." "Not an hour. We will meet in Dr. Robertson's parlor, each with a friend or two. My carriage will be at his door, and as soon as the ceremony is over, we will drive to the railway station, and take a train for London, be in London for dinner, and ready next day to start Tour No. 1, first landing-place St. Petersburg; eh, dear? Say yes, say yes, Isabel. _Do!_" And how could Isabel say anything but "yes"? It was the dream of her life coming true. "This is Wednesday," he continued joyfully, "what do you say to next Monday? Can you be ready for Monday?" "I can be ready by Monday, Sir Thomas." "We will drop the 'Sir,' my dear, forever. Now, I will go and arrange with Dr. Robertson for the ceremony at nine o'clock, Monday morning, and in the meantime, see your brother about the necessary business matters, and put all right at Wynton village for at least a year's stay. For after London, we will follow the route you laid out--nothing could be better." And as this was one of those destined marriages, that may be delayed but cannot be prevented, every particular relating to it went as desired. Isabel in a pretty travelling suit, with her mother and brother, was at Dr. Robertson's at nine o'clock on the set Monday morning, and found Sir Thomas Wynton and his brother-in-law and sister, Lord and Lady Morpeth, waiting for them. It was a momentous interval for two of the party, but soon passed; for in twenty minutes, Isabel received the congratulations due to her as Lady Wynton, and then amid smiles and good wishes she began with her husband their long wedding trip, of all over the world. "It is the last of my Isabel," said Mrs. Campbell between smiles and tears.