“And you thought him wanting in courage,” recurred John.

“Only when I was wild and silly, talking out of the ’Traveller’s Joy.’  It was hearing about his going into that dreadful place that stirred it all up in my mind, because I saw what a hero he is.”

“God grant he may come safe out of it!” said John.  “I’ll tell you what, Sydney, though, it is a shame, when I am the gainer:  I think your romance went astray; more faith and patience would have waited to see the real hero come out, and so you have missed him and got the ordinary, jog-trot, commonplace fellow instead.”

“Ah! but love must be at the bottom of faith and patience,” said Sydney, “and that was scared away by shame at my own forwardness and foolishness.  And now it is all gone to the jog-trot!  I want no better hero!”

“What a confession for the maiden of the twelfth century!”

“I’m very glad you don’t feel moved to start off to the yellow fever.”

“Do you know, Sydney, I do not know what I don’t feel moved to sometimes, I cannot understand this silence!”

“But you said the telegram that he was mending was almost better than if he had never been ill at all.”

“So I thought then; but why do we not hear, if all is well with them?”

Three weeks since, a telegram had been received by Allen, containing the words, “Janet died at 2.30 A.M.  Lucas mending.”

It had been resolved not to put off the wedding, as much inconvenience would have been caused, and poor Janet was only cousin to John, and had been removed from all family interests so long, even Mrs. Robert Brownlow saw no impropriety, since Barbara went to Belforest for a fortnight, returning to Mrs. Evelyn on the afternoon of the wedding-day itself to assist in her move to the Dower House.  Esther, who had never professed to wish for a hero, had been so much disturbed by the recent alarms of war, that she was only anxious that her guardsman should safely sell out in the interval of peace; and he had begun to care enough about the occupations at Fordham to wish to be free to make it his chief dwelling-place.

The wedding was as quiet as possible.  Sydney was disappointed of the only bridesmaid she cared much about, and Barbara felt a kind of relief in not having a second time to assist at the destruction of a brother’s hopes.  She was very glad to get back to Fordham, reporting that Allen and Elvira were so devotedly in love that a third person was very much de trop; though they had been very kind, and Elvira had mourned poor Janet with real gratitude and affection.  Still they did not take half so much alarm at the silence as she did, and she was relieved to be with the Evelyns, who were becoming very anxious.  The bridegroom and bride could not bear to go out of reach of intell-igence, and had limited their tour to the nearest place on the coast, where they could hear by half a day’s post.