He never goes to sleep till I have done that, and he always tells me
if anything is on his mind. I could not ask him again, it would have
been insulting him; but he went over it all of himself, and owned he
ought not to have put a finger on the edge of the nest, but he wanted
so to see what it was lined with; otherwise he never touched it. He
says, poor boy, that it was only your being a civilian that made you
not able to believe him, I am sure you must believe him now."

Mrs. Curtis began, in her gentle way, about the difficulty of
believing one's children in fault, but Lady Temple was entirely past
accepting the possibility of Conrade's being to blame in this
particular instance. It made her bristle up again, so that even
Rachel saw the impossibility of pressing it, and trusted to some
signal confutation to cure her of her infatuation. But she was as
affectionate as ever, only wanting to be forgiven for the morning's
warmth, and to assure dear Aunt Curtis, dear Grace, and dearest
Rachel in particular, that there was no doing without them, and it
was the greatest blessing to be near them.

"Oh! and the squirting, dear Rachel! I was so sorry when I found it
out, it was only Francie and Leo. I was very angry with them for it,
and I should like to make them ask pardon, only I don't think Francie
would. I'm afraid they are very rude boys. I must write to the
Major to find me a governess that won't be very strict with them, and
if she could be an officer's daughter, the boys would respect her so
much more."