"No, no! I am happier than I ever thought I should be again—happier far than I deserve to be. Oh, Joy, I am thinking of last year, and how I was always trying to curry favour with Uncle Jasper, and pretending to better in every way than I actually was, all the time I was so discontented really; and then, when I thought I had lost all I had valued most—money, and comfort, and luxuries, I found out that it was none of those things that would make me happy, and I did not mind their loss. And then—"
"Yes?" said Joy, interrogatively, as her sister paused.
"And then, after the fire," Celia continued, "when mother talked to me, and pointed out to me all the mischief I had caused, I was wild with remorse. And when we feared you would never walk again, I thought my heart would break, and I was as wretched as I possibly could be. Afterwards, when you were in hospital, before I heard the operation was successful, I felt—oh, dreadful!" She shuddered; then added: "Joy, I think I have learnt the secret of happiness now. It is not riches that make one contented, but faith in God."
Thus were the sisters one in heart and mind; and long before Mrs. Wallis and Eric finished their stroll in the rock garden they had come to a perfect understanding with each other.
A happy time followed, which the young people spent mostly out-of-doors, enjoying unclouded sunshine of the August days. Lulu came to the Moat House as had been promised; and Lawrence Puttenham paid his visit to the Vicarage, and, with Eric, spent many a pleasant evening in the cricket field. The members of the Crumleigh Cricket Club had become proficient players by this time, and actually won the match against the eleven from T—, when, true to his word, Sir Jasper Amery was present to witness their success.
No one ever made any reference to Celia's deceptions of the previous year; and she was intensely relieved and grateful on that account. The consideration and kindness of her relations and friends touched her deeply, and as the sunny days of the long vacation slipped away, she grew happier, and more at her ease with Sir Jasper, who now appeared to divide his affection more equally between his niece's children, so that it would have been difficult to have said which was his favourite—the outspoken school boy, with his high spirits and somewhat boisterous ways; the pretty, golden-haired girl who flushed with real pleasure if called upon to do him a service; or the little, pale-faced maiden, who, though lame, accepted her affliction with resignation, and possessed one of the happiest faces in the world.
THE END.
