At that she turned and hid her face upon his breast.
"Oh, Max, my husband, my dear, dear husband," she sobbed, "how can I live away from you? You are now more than all the world to me."
"As you are to me, dear love. It is hard to part, but we will hope to meet again soon; and in the meantime let us write to each other every day. And as there is no war now you need not feel that your husband is in any special danger."
"Yes, thank God for that," she said, "and that we may know that we are both in his kind care and keeping wherever we are."
"And surely you will be less lonely than you were before our marriage--father claims you as his daughter, Chester and little Ned are your brothers, Lu and Grace your sisters."
"Yes, oh yes; I have a great deal to be thankful for, but you are to me a greater blessing than all the world."
"As you are to me, dearest," was his response, as he held her close to his heart, pressing warm kisses on cheek and brow and lip.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the hall, Chester and Lucilla were chatting about the Captain's plan for a winter trip.
"I think it will be just delightful, Chester," she said, "since I am to have you along. I am so glad you are going, sorry as I am that ill-health makes it necessary."
"Yes, my dear," he returned with a smile, "I am fortunate, indeed, in having so loving a wife and so kind and able a father-in-law. I am truly sorry that I must leave some important business matters to which I should like to give attention promptly and in person, but I intend to put that care aside and enjoy our holiday as fully as possible. I heartily wish Max could go with us. I think it would almost double the pleasure of the trip."
"As I do," responded Lucilla, with a sigh; "but it seems one can never have all one wants in this world. I doubt if it would be good for us if we could."
"No, it assuredly would not. Now, my dear, I am going down to the library to look at some papers connected with one of my cases, and shall probably be busy over them until the call to dinner."
The next few days were busy ones with those who were to have a part in the southern trip of the "Dolphin." Woodburn and Sunnyside were to be left in the care of Christine and Alma, with a sufficient number of servants under them to keep everything in order.