Allusions in the letters, themselves, proved that Grace had
commented on this unexpected display of observant humour, and had
expressed her surprise at its existence. It was then as novel to my
sister as it was to myself. I was struck also with the fact, that
Rupert's name did not appear once in all these letters. They embraced
just twenty-seven weeks, between the earliest and the latest date; and
there were nine-and-twenty letters, two having been sent by private
conveyances; her father's, most probably, he occasionally making the
journey by land; yet no one of them contained the slightest allusion
to her brother, or to either of the Mertons. This was enough to let me
know how well Lucy understood the reason of Grace's withdrawal to
Clawbonny.
"And how was it with Miles Wallingford's name?" some of my fair
readers may be ready to ask. I went carefully through the package in
the course of the evening, and I set aside two, as the only exceptions
in which my name did not appear. On examining these two with jealous
care, I found each had a postscript, one of which was to the following
effect: "I see by the papers that Miles has sailed for Malta having at
last left those stubborn Turks. I am glad of this, as one would not
wish to have the excellent fellow shut up in the Seven Towers, however
honourable it may have been.
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