"Well," said she, in a low voice, half to herself, "it don't matter; I
shall see him soon myself."

"See him yourself!" said Miss Plympton, anxiously. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, I shall see him soon--when I get to Dalton Hall."

"Dalton Hall?"

"Yes," said Edith, simply, raising her head and looking calmly at Miss
Plympton.

"But you are not going to Dalton Hall."

"There is no other place for me," said Edith, sadly. "I am going--I am
going as soon as possible."

"Oh no--oh no, darling; you are going to do nothing of the kind," said
Miss Plympton. "I can not let you go. We all love you too dearly. This
is your home, and I now stand in the place of those whom you have lost.
You are never to leave me, Edith dearest."

Edith sighed heavily, and shook her head.

"No," she said, speaking in a low, melancholy voice--"no, I can not
stay. I can not meet my friends here again. I am not what I was
yesterday. I am changed. It seems as though some heavy weight has come
upon me. I must go away, and I have only one place to go to, and that is
my father's home."