A face peeped from Mrs. Carroll's window as the horse's hoofs sounded on
the gravel, and by the time that Isabel, pale, wet, and worn-out with her
seventy miles' ride, was dismounted, Mistress Margaret herself was at the
door, with Anthony's face at her shoulder, and Mrs. Carroll looking over
the banisters.
Isabel was not allowed to see her father's body that night, but after she
was in bed, Lady Maxwell herself, who had been sent for when he lay
dying, came down from the Hall, and told her what there was to tell;
while Mistress Margaret and Anthony entertained Dr. Carrington below.
"Dear child," said the old lady, leaning with her elbow on the bed, and
holding the girl's hand tenderly as she talked, "it was all over in an
hour or two. It was the heart, you know. Mrs. Carroll sent for me
suddenly, on Saturday morning; and by the time I reached him he could not
speak. They had carried him upstairs from his study, where they had found
him; and laid him down on his bed, and--yes, yes--he was in pain, but he
was conscious, and he was praying I think; his lips moved. And I knelt
down by the bed and prayed aloud; he only spoke twice; and, my dear, it
was your name the first time, and the name of His Saviour the second
time. He looked at me, and I could see he was trying to speak; and then
on a sudden he spoke 'Isabel.' And I think he was asking me to take care
of you. And I nodded and said that I would do what I could, and he seemed
satisfied and shut his eyes again.
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