Maud Florence Nellie; or, Don't care!Coleridge, Christabel R. (Christabel Rose)
General
Maud Florence Nellie; or, Don't care!
Coleridge, Christabel R. (Christabel Rose)
Girls -- Juvenile fiction
And when Lady Carleton, taking Florence by the hand, led her into her
own room, and kneeling down with her gave thanks that the undoing of her
childish folly had come through the sister of the man who had been most
injured by it, and that all doubt and mystery were over, Florence never
thought of being elated at her discovery; she felt grateful and quiet,
and went to bed thinking chiefly of the hearty kiss with which Harry had
parted from her, and his words: "I'm heartily grateful to you, Florence.
You've been the means of doing me a real good turn." Even while, as
she thought how she would try and deserve my lady's kind words, and be
worth the friendly treatment she had had from her, the girlish thought
pressed in between:
"Oh, my! what _would_ Carrie and Ada think if they'd have known I'd had
the finding of a real diamond necklace!"
The flower show next day in a tent in the park was an occasion never to
be forgotten, for there, in the centre of the tent, above Mr Elton's
best orchids, and the geraniums from Sir Philip's garden, under a glass
case, and with Mr Warren on guard beside them, lay the lost jewels of
Ravenshurst, still tarnished and dusty, with the bits of touchwood
clinging to them still, and testifying to the prison from which their
brightness had been released, that all the world might know that they
were found at last.
And there all the country round came to look at them; Mr Cunningham,
with his eldest son, looking more bright and genial than he had ever
been seen before, telling the story to Mr and Mrs Murray. And there
were Harry Whittaker and his father, to whom he had sent an urgent
telegram, and Florence walking round with them, an object of
astonishment to her Aunt Stroud and to Mattie, who had come also to see
the wonderful jewels. And there were Geraldine and her governess--
Geraldine calling Florence eagerly to look at the wild-flower baskets
sent by "our class." And at last in the afternoon, to the intense joy
of Wyn Warren, came Mr Edgar himself. How carefully Wyn led the pony
across the smooth turf and round the tent, where every one made way, and
Edgar lay back quite still, not nodding and half raising himself and
looking about, as had been his wont, but resting on his pillows, with
only his bright eyes watching everything! He stopped in the middle of
the tent, and Alwyn lifted down the jewels and showed them to him, one
by one; and Harry, who had never yet seen him, came up to shake hands
with him, and Edgar smiled at him and said in his old lively way:
"Found at last, you see!" and then, "My brother talks to me often about
you."
Harry could hardly speak, the white face and bright eyes quite overcame
him.
"I want to see the wild flowers," said Edgar, and the various
collections were shown to him, with Wyn's with the words "First Prize"
on it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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