'She paid for all my schooling and lessons,' the girl said simply, 'so
that mother could afford to stay with me all the time. Mother gave some
English lessons herself too. And I was able to learn French _quite_
well, which will be such an advantage to me. The last two years I taught
English at the school, so the expenses were not so great. And we spent
the summer holidays at Madame d'Ermont's château. Oh, she was _so_
kind!'

'But why have you not written to us all this time?' asked her friends.

'We have--two or three times, but the address must have been wrong, for
one letter was returned to us. I remember I put all rightly except the
county, for I did not think that necessary; and now--the other day, I
mean--when, we had answered the advertisement and were inquiring about
Calton, we found that there are actually three or four places of the
name in England. And oh, we were so delighted when we found on getting
there that Laneverel Rectory was only two miles off.'

'Are you living at Calton then? What do you mean about an advertisement?
Is your mother at Calton?'

Celestina laughed and blushed at her own confused way of explaining.

'I am so pleased at seeing you that I am losing my head,' she said.
'Yes, we have come to live at Calton. We have got the dearest little
house there. And I am French teacher at the large girls' school just
outside the town. I get sixty pounds a year--is it not delightful? So we
are quite rich. If only--you don't know how I wish poor father could
have enjoyed it too--if he could but have had a few years of the
pleasant life and rest.'