She would
forget it all in one brief whirl of gayety; and she had been the
brilliant life of the party. But how often her laugh had ended in a
stifled sigh! How often her heart told her, "This is not happiness, and
never can be again!" Her brief experience of what is deep and genuine in
life taught her that she had outgrown certain pleasures of the past, as a
child outgrows its toys, and she had returned thoroughly convinced that
her remedy was not in the dissipations of society.
The evening after her return Burt, with Webb and Amy, had come to call,
and as she looked upon him again she asked herself, in sadness, "Is there
any remedy?" She was not one to give her heart in a half-way manner.
It seemed to her that he had been absent for years, and had grown
indefinitely remote. Never before had she gained the impression so
strongly that he was in some way bound to Amy, and would abide by his
choice. If this were true, she felt that the sooner she left the vicinity
the better, and even while she chatted lightly and genially she was
planning to induce her father to return to the city at an early date.
Before parting, Amy spoke of her pleasure at the return of her friend,
who, she said, had been greatly missed, adding: "Now we shall make up for
lost time. The roads are in fine condition for horseback exercise,
nutting expeditions will soon be in order, and we have a bee-hunt on the
programme."
"I congratulate you on your prospects," said Miss Hargrove.
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