Whilst
he and her father transacted matters of business in the upper rooms,
Jane remained downstairs with Mrs. Byass. Before quitting the house
he asked her if she had had any communication with Miss Lant yet.
'I ought to write and tell her,' replied Jane.
'I will do so for you,' said the lawyer, kindly.
And on taking leave he held her hand for a moment, looking
compassionately into her pale face.
On Thursday morning there arrived a letter from Miss Lant, who
happened to be out of town and grieved that she could not return in
time for the funeral, which would be that day. There was nothing
about the future, excepting a promise that the writer would come
very shortly.
Michael was buried at Abney Park Cemetery; no ray of sunlight fell
upon his open grave, but the weather was mild, and among the budded
trees passed a breath which was the promise of spring. Joseph
Snowdon and the Byasses were Jane's only companions in the
mourning-carriage; but at the cemetery they were joined by Sidney
Kirkwood. Jane saw him and felt the pressure of his hand, but she
could neither speak nor understand anything that was said to her.
On Friday morning, before she had made a show of eating the
breakfast Bessie Byass prepared for her, a visitor arrived.
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