'Ned,I didn't name it in my letter,because,you see,it would have been so hard to explain!I thought that when we met I could tell you how she happened to be born,so much better than in writing!I hope you'll excuse it this once,dear Ned,and not scold me,now I've come so many,many miles!'
'This means Mr.Mop Ollamoor,I reckon!'said Hipcroft,gazing palely at them from the distance of the yard or two to which he had withdrawn with a start.
Car'line gasped.'But he's been gone away for years!'she supplicated.'And I never had a young man before!And I was so onlucky to be catched the first time,though some of the girls down there go on like anything!'
Ned remained in silence,pondering.
'You'll forgive me,dear Ned?'she added,beginning to sob outright.
'I haven't taken 'ee in after all,because--because you can pack us back again,if you want to;though 'tis hundreds o'miles,and so wet,and night a-coming on,and I with no money!'
'What the devil can I do!'Hipcroft groaned.
A more pitiable picture than the pair of helpless creatures presented was never seen on a rainy day,as they stood on the great,gaunt,puddled platform,a whiff of drizzle blowing under the roof upon them now and then;the pretty attire in which they had started from Stickleford in the early morning bemuddled and sodden,weariness on their faces,and fear of him in their eyes;for the child began to look as if she thought she too had done some wrong,remaining in an appalled silence till the tears rolled down her chubby cheeks.
'What's the matter,my little maid?'said Ned mechanically.
'I do want to go home!'she let out,in tones that told of a bursting heart.'And my totties be cold,an'I shan't have no bread an' butter no more!'
'I don't know what to say to it all!'declared Ned,his own eye moist as he turned and walked a few steps with his head down;then regarded them again point blank.From the child escaped troubled breaths and silently welling tears.
'Want some bread and butter,do 'ee?'he said,with factitious hardness.
'Ye-e-s!'
'Well,I daresay I can get 'ee a bit!Naturally,you must want some.
And you,too,for that matter,Car'line.'
'I do feel a little hungered.But I can keep it off,'she murmured.
'Folk shouldn't do that,'he said gruffly....'There come along!'he caught up the child,as he added,'You must bide here to-night,anyhow,I s'pose!What can you do otherwise?I'll get 'ee some tea and victuals;and as for this job,I'm sure I don't know what to say!
This is the way out.'
They pursued their way,without speaking,to Ned's lodgings,which were not far off.There he dried them and made them comfortable,and prepared tea;they thankfully sat down.The ready-made household of which he suddenly found himself the head imparted a cosy aspect to his room,and a paternal one to himself.Presently he turned to the child and kissed her now blooming cheeks;and,looking wistfully at Car'line,kissed her also.
'I don't see how I can send 'ee back all them miles,'he growled,'now you've come all the way o'purpose to join me.But you must trust me,Car'line,and show you've real faith in me.Well,do you feel better now,my little woman?'
The child nodded,her mouth being otherwise occupied.
'I did trust you,Ned,in coming;and I shall always!'
Thus,without any definite agreement to forgive her,he tacitly acquiesced in the fate that Heaven had sent him;and on the day of their marriage (which was not quite so soon as he had expected it could be,on account of the time necessary for banns)he took her to the Exhibition when they came back from church,as he had promised.
While standing near a large mirror in one of the courts devoted to furniture,Car'line started,for in the glass appeared the reflection of a form exactly resembling Mop Ollamoor's--so exactly,that it seemed impossible to believe anybody but that artist in person to be the original.On passing round the objects which hemmed in Ned,her,and the child from a direct view,no Mop was to be seen.Whether he were really in London or not at that time was never known;and Car'line always stoutly denied that her readiness to go and meet Ned in town arose from any rumour that Mop had also gone thither;which denial there was no reasonable ground for doubting.
And then the year glided away,and the Exhibition folded itself up and became a thing of the past.The park trees that had been enclosed for six months were again exposed to the winds and storms,and the sod grew green anew.Ned found that Car'line resolved herself into a very good wife and companion,though she had made herself what is called cheap to him;but in that she was like another domestic article,a cheap tea-pot,which often brews better tea than a dear one.One autumn Hipcroft found himself with but little work to do,and a prospect of less for the winter.Both being country born and bred,they fancied they would like to live again in their natural atmosphere.It was accordingly decided between them that they should leave the pent-up London lodging,and that Ned should seek out employment near his native place,his wife and her daughter staying with Car'line's father during the search for occupation and an abode of their own.
Tinglings of pleasure pervaded Car'line's spasmodic little frame as she journeyed down with Ned to the place she had left two or three years before,in silence and under a cloud.To return to where she had once been despised,a smiling London wife with a distinct London accent,was a triumph which the world did not witness every day.
