At first there fell upon Beatrice a dreadful blank. The
monotony, the quiet, the simple occupations, were more
unendurable than ever; but in a few days that feeling wore off,
and then she began to wonder at what she had done. The glamour
fell from before her eyes; the novelty and excitement, the
romance of the stolen meetings, the pleasant homage of love and
worship no longer blinded her. Ah, and before Hugh Fernely had
been many days and nights upon the wide ocean, she ended by
growing rather ashamed of the matter, and trying to think of it
as little as she could! Once she half tried to tell Lillian; but
the look of horror on the sweet, pure face startled her, and she
turned the subject by some merry jest.
Then there came a letter from Mrs. Vyvian announcing her return.
The girls were warmly attached to the lady, who had certainly
devoted the ten best years of her life to them. She brought with
her many novelties, new books, new music, amusing intelligence
from the outer world. For some days there was no lack of
excitement and amusement; then all fell again into the old
routine.
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