The
first joy at beholding them safe and sound was damped by the news they
brought. As soon as Carruthers could recover himself he spoke to the
weird woman and invited her to come and rest at Bridesdale. Then he
hastened on ahead to warn his wife and sister, and make arrangements for
the reception of the strange visitor. When the party arrived at the
house they found a large company, young and old, assembled to meet them,
for, in addition to the doctor and his daughter, there was Mrs. Du
Plessis with her daughter on one side, and, in all its soldierly
dignity, the tall form of Colonel Morton on the other. The lawyer also
noticed the ebon countenance of Mr. Maguffin peering over the palings in
the direction of the stables. Matilda Nagle was hurried away to the
back of the house by Mrs. Carruthers and her sister-in-law, there to
find her idiot boy, to partake of necessary food provided by the
compassionate Tryphena, and, for a time, altogether to forget the sad
tragedy of the day. Tryphosa prepared tea for the truants in the
breakfast room, and, after the formalities of introduction and
reacquaintance had been gone through, Miss Carmichael poured out tea for
the five, while Tryphosa did the same for Ben in the kitchen.
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