I shed many tears over this letter, which was as kind and tender as possible, and as my lord was sending post to London, I answered it with my mother's permission, and sent Andrew a watch-chain which I had learned to make from gold cord. Long afterward I heard that he had written again, but I never received the letter. My mother concluded her business with my lord, greatly to the satisfaction, and I believe to the advantage of both parties, since the property she took in exchange was more immediately productive, and more convenient for a woman to hold. One morning after a long private conference with our host and hostess, my mother told me that she had made Lord Stanton my guardian in case of her dying before I was settled in life. "Dear maman, do not speak of dying," said I. "You are looking so well." "And I am well—better than I ever expected to be," she answered me; "but no one knows what may happen, and I shall not die the sooner for having settled my affairs. My lord and lady are good people, and will do well by you." I was well content with the arrangement, for I liked both my lord and my lady. The latter was one of the most evenly good women I ever saw. She was not one who ever made great demonstrations of affection even to her own children, but she was almost always the same. As Dinah said, one always knew where to have her. My lord was somewhat choleric, and had a knack of exasperating himself over trifles which sometimes made one ashamed for him; but still he was a fine, good-natured gentleman, who would have died before he would do a mean or cruel action, and his manners were perfect, specially to women. I never saw him speak even to a maid servant without lifting his hat. He was greatly annoyed by the freedom taken by some of his young gentlemen visitors with the village maids and the servants; and when one of these fine sparks came to complain of a ducking in the sea which he got from one of the Lees "down to Cove" for making too free with his young wife, my lord said bluntly it served him right, and he would have done the same if he had been there. The youth blustered, and I believe would have challenged my lord, but thought better of it and took himself away. But a great sorrow was hanging over my head, though I never suspected it. My mother's health had wonderfully improved of late, and there seemed no reason why she should not live out the usual term of years. She told me one evening that she had not felt so well in all respects since she was a young girl. "It is not only in bodily health," said she, "but I am sensible of a great improvement in my spirits—not elation exactly, but a kind of joyfulness as if I were in certain expectation of good news, and I constantly dream of your father and of our old home in France which I have never done before."