"
"I have gone through a bad time, Kate. I have been worried. My dear
child, be thankful you are not a middle-aged woman with many cares."
"The thing I should be most thankful for at this moment, mother, would
be to share in all your worries."
"God forbid, child. Heaven forbid that such a lot should be yours. Now,
my dear, we will keep our secret. It is only yours and mine. And--come
here--kiss me--you have acted well, my darling."
The rare caress, the unwonted word of love, went straight to Catherine
Bertram's deep heart. She put her firm young arm round her mother's
neck, and something like a vow and a prayer went up to God from her
fervent soul.
"Come out," said Mrs. Bertram. "The others will wonder what we are
doing. Look as usual, Kitty, and fear nothing. I have been in peril, but
for the present it is over."
When Mrs. Bertram appeared Loftus went up to her at once. She took his
arm, and they paced slowly under the trees. If Mrs. Bertram loved her
daughters, and there is no doubt she had a very real regard for them,
Loftus Bertram was as the apple of her eye. She adored this young man,
she was blind to his faults, and she saw his virtues through magnifying
glasses.
Loftus could always talk his mother into the best of humors. He was not
devoid of tact, and he knew exactly how to manage her, so as to bring
her round to his wishes.
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