"There need be very little delay, then. We shall be in England in a few weeks, I have no doubt." But this hope of reaching England so soon was doomed to disappointment. The mail came in a few hours afterwards, but no letter granting Major Ferrers leave of absence. The gentleman fidgeted a good deal when he found it had not arrived. But fidgeting did not bring it, and he had to content himself with the only letter that fell to his share. "The order has not come," he said irritably, as he entered his wife's sitting room again. "There's so much form to be gone through, I suppose, that they've missed the mail." The lady looked disappointed. "You have a letter," she said at length, glancing at the one her husband held in his hand. "Yes, merely an answer from Mr. Mansfield, I expect," he said, opening it as he spoke. "O, another long epistle!" he exclaimed, glancing down the closely-written paper. He sat down to read it in a comfortable, leisurely manner. But before he had got over many lines, he started to his feet. "Goodness, Maria!" he exclaimed. And then, recollecting himself, he dropped into his seat. "What is it? What is the matter?" asked the lady, rousing herself to look at her husband. The expression of his countenance startled her, and she came around to his side. "What is it, Edgar?" she said. "Tell me, do tell me what has happened." "Wait a minute, my dear, until I have finished, and then I will tell you all—everything," he added. "Everything!" she repeated. "About what?" "About the darling child—our long-lost Milly." "Is she found, then? Have you news of her? I thought you said the letter was from your cousin, Mr. Mansfield." "So it is, my dear; and I doubt not he has found our Milly, or at least a little girl that he thinks—he says fears—must be our child." "O, where—how did he find her?" asked the lady impatiently. "Tell me everything about her—Is she well?—What is she like?—Is her hair fair or dark?" These and some half-dozen other questions were asked so rapidly, that it was quite impossible for her husband to answer one of them. But by degrees, all that Mr. Mansfield had said concerning Milly was communicated, and she grew more calm. A few hours afterwards, when the husband and wife were again talking of the strange tidings that had reached them—tidings so joyful, that at present nothing else could be thought of or talked about—Major Ferrers suddenly said, "I think my cousin must be greatly changed since I saw him." "Why, what makes you think that?" asked his wife. "Well, the way in which he has acted in this affair. He was rather selfish when a boy; in fact, it was that and my provoking temper that led to our last quarrel. But I seem to see somehow in this letter he has written about Milly, that he is acting altogether unselfishly. It is plain that he loves the child very much; for in one place he says that he fears she may be ours."