“I fear you can do nothing,” he replied, sadly.  “A Heron never yet brooked interference even by his nearest and dearest.  No, you must say nothing about it.  Even I must be careful how I approach him; for this morning he was testy and irritable and resented the few questions I ventured to put to him.  Don’t make yourself unhappy about it.  I will try and arrange about the mortgage, and I will come over again as soon as possible and try and persuade your father to confide in me as he used to do.  Now, come, remember!  You are not to worry yourself, my dear, but to leave it entirely to me.  Things are rarely as bad as they seem, and there is always a gleam of light in the darkest sky.  Perhaps, some day, we shall see Heron Hall and the good old family in all its old glory; and when that day comes, my little girl with the star eyes will queen it in the dale like one of the Heron ladies of the past.”

He patted her hand as he held it, patted and stroked it and looked at her with a tender and encouraging smile, which made Ida’s eyes grow moist.

She rode down the dale gravely and sadly for some minutes:  then the thought flashed through her mind, warming her heart, that she was not alone, but there was one who loved her and to whom she could by for consolation and encouragement.  Yes, it was only right that she should tell Stafford all; there should be no concealment from him.

She rode down the dale looking for him, but he was nowhere to be seen.  When she came to the opening by the lake she saw the large, white Villa gleaming in the sunlight; a launch was patting off from the landing-place with men and women on board, and the could almost fancy that she heard the sound of laughter.  The contrast of the prosperity typified by the great white place and the poverty of Heron Hall smote her sharply.  She was poorer even than she had thought:  what would the great, the rich Sir Stephen say to such a daughter-in-law?  She watched the launch dreamily as it shot across the lake, and wondered whether Stafford was on board, laughing and talking perhaps with the beautiful Miss Falconer.  In this moment of her trouble the thought was not pleasant, but there was no jealousy in it, for in her assurance of his love he was free to talk and jest with whom he pleased.  She turned, and after making her usual circuit, rode home-wards.  As she reached the cross-road she heard the sound of a horse coming from the Hall, and she pulled up, her heart beating fast; then it sank with disappointment, for the horseman came round the bend and she saw that it was a groom.  He touched his hat as he passed, and rode on at a sharp trot in the direction of Bryndremere.  Ida wondered why he had been to the Hall, but concluded that he had gone there with some message about the farm produce.

When she rode into the stable-yard, she saw Jessie and Jason standing by the small hall door and talking eagerly, and Jessie came forward, and taking a letter from under her apron, held it out with a smile.