"I shall be glad indeed to see you," Mary cried, holding out her hand with an impulse that she would have found it hard to account for. "Oh, I am not so strong and self-reliant that I need nobody to confide in. The more my mind dwells on the future, the more I seem to dread it. And you have been so good and kind to me, I owe so much to you. I begin to see that there are gentlemen in the world, though they boast of no pedigree, and----" "Well, that is a good lesson learned," Ralph smiled. "Let me walk with you as far as the Hall, for I have a telegram to send from the village. And then, if you will allow me, I will return to the dower house with you. There are one or two things that I have to say before you go." Mary smiled through her tears; for a second her soul seemed to show in her eyes. CHAPTER XXXV. A FRIEND IN NEED It was a long telegram that Ralph despatched from the village, for he only received a few pence out of the half-sovereign that he placed on the counter. The operator sighed at the prodigious task before him. Then Ralph went off in the direction of the Hall to wait for Mary in the park. It was some time before she came; the children of the villagers passed on their way from school, and presently Slight came along, with something like a frown on his rosy, wrinkled little face. He eyed Ralph with marked disfavour. "What's this about Miss Mary, Sir Ralph?" he asked. "Perhaps I shouldn't have called you by that name. But Miss Mary has been up to the Hall to say goodbye. She says she is going to London for good, and that she is not coming back again. Going to try to get her own living, or some such foolishness." "Your manner is not respectful, Slight," Ralph said coldly. "I can't help it, sir," Slight replied. "Really, I can't. I love Miss Mary as if she had been a child of my own. I taught her to ride, I taught her--but there! If you only knew what a heart of gold she has! And now to go and soil those pretty hands with work. And you could prevent it by holding up your little finger. Thank God, there is no occasion for me to stay at the Hall, for I've saved enough for my old age, though I don't deny that it will be a wrench. And tomorrow the whole lot of us are going to hand in our resignation in a body." "Indeed, you are not going to do anything of the sort," Ralph said sternly. "Don't let me hear any more of this folly. If you _do_ go, you will not come back again when this present head of the family has gone his way, which will be only a matter of a few months at the outside. I look to you to stop the silly action, Slight. I have given you my word before that this thing is not likely to be permanent. And when you come to know everything, you will see how wisely I have acted in the matter." Slight's indignation cooled as quickly as it had heated. He scratched his white head in some perplexity. And the look he turned upon Ralph was one of fatherly affection.