“He must be extraordinarily devoted! Why, he must adore you, my dear! I’m sure your uncle would never have cleaned windows and washed cars for _me_! Ha! ha! well, Aurea, I confess I like your--er--chauffeur.” “But he’s not a chauffeur now, and will soon have a motor of his own. He is his uncle’s agent; we are to live at Wynyard, and have a splendid allowance. Owen means to do a lot for the tenants, and I’m to take over the village girls--oh, we have had such a talk!” “A talk! Yes, no doubt. What will your father and Susan say?” “They will be enchanted; they are both fond of Owen; indeed, for one whole day, the village was thrilled with the idea that Susan and Owen had _eloped_!” and she related the story with so much of her old spirit, that her aunt lay back in her chair and laughed till she wept. “I believe I shall like young Wynyard,” she repeated, as she dried her eyes, “and you know your uncle and I look on you, Aurea, as our own child, so the General will have a word in the settlements; and when you marry, you shall have my emerald necklace. Good-night, dearest. I must go off and talk this over with my old man. I declare I feel so excited, that I’m sure I shall not sleep a wink.” And what of Aurea, to whom Destiny had brought a rapturous fate within the last two hours? She pulled up the blind, opened wide the window, and, leaning her arms on the sill, gazed upon the scene--the gently heaving ocean, the vast, limitless firmament, the silver moonlight--and wondered, was any girl in all the wide world as happy as herself? THE END _Printed by_ MORRISON & GIBB LIMITED, _Edinburgh_ TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized. Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.