"I think I have already succeeded to some extent; but she is so young
that, of course, much of the work yet remains to be done; and Laura is
not the person to carry it on; also, I think, would not covet the task.
"Lester, if you will undertake her guardianship and receive her into your
family, to be brought up under the influence of your lovely wife and
mother-in-law, I shall die happy. Would it be asking too much, my dear
brother?"
"You could not ask too much of me, Eric," Lester said with emotion; "and
if my Elsie is willing, it shall be as you wish."
Eric expressed his thanks, and his hope that Elsie would not object.
"My darling will not be a troublesome charge," he said; "she has her
faults, of course, but they are not of a kind to make her a disagreeable
inmate of your family; and her admiration for her Aunt Elsie is so great
that, doubtless, she will yield readily to her wishes and study to be
like her in her loveliness of character and manners."
"Yes; Evelyn is a child any father might be proud of," assented Lester.
"Surely her mother cannot help being fond of her, and you would not
separate them, Eric?"
Eric looked much disturbed.
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