She stopped, exhausted, and covered her face with her hands.
"My dear! my dear!" said Lady Lyons, feebly patting her on the arm. "For my sake do not excite yourself so much. I am so very sorry I brought this forward--but I don't think I did either."
"It does not matter whether you did or not, it is always here--no, not always," said Grace, with a bitter little laugh, "because I am not a girl who makes herself miserable about what cannot be helped, but when I am driven into thought----Oh! Lady Lyons, do you know what it is? Did you ever, in all your life, have remorse?"
"Oh, yes!" said Lady Lyons, very placidly, "when I lost my husband I wished I had not been so cross to him. But he was trying, my dear--very trying. However, I was sorry I was snappish to him sometimes. It quite weighed upon me when he died."
Grace laughed again, and Lady Lyons looked at her curiously. What had she said that was so funny? She began to talk again, this time a little spitefully.
"I suppose you will be glad if your sister marries again?"
"Of course, I shall be glad for her to do whatever is for her happiness; but marrying again, Lady Lyons, does it not seem a little hard that she should have so many chances and I ... have none?"
"My dear, if I am not very much mistaken, Sir Albert Gerald is very much in love."
"Yes, I think he is very much in love," Grace answered indifferently.
"Then let us hope it will all come right."
"I hope it will," and before Lady Lyons could go on with her investigations a servant came to ask if Grace would see Mr. Stevens.
"Certainly." Grace was enchanted to see any one; and Lady Lyons, who did not care for Mr. Stevens, carefully gathered her patchwork together and left the room.
"Well, Mr. Stevens, you see me on the very verge of departure," exclaimed Grace; "I am really going far from this gay and festive scene, and intend recruiting my shattered nerves in Highland air."
Mr. Stevens looked at her gravely. He was deeply shocked by her appearance. She looked so fragile, and her lips were so absolutely without colour.
"I hope the Highland air will set you up," he said; "you look as if you have not had sleep for an indefinite time."
"No, sleep.... I do not sleep well." There was something almost pathetic in her tone. He had seen her pretty often now, but he had always seen her full of high spirits, bandying words; he thought her more interesting, and he said very kindly, "Change of air does much for every one, and it will do you good seeing your sister."