Mary Braddock refrained from telling Christine even so
much as she had told David concerning the plans of her husband. The
girl was allowed to believe that the man was already on his way to the
far West. There was a rather trying scene when Christine learned that
it would be impossible for her to see her father. She broke down and
wept, crying out bitterly that she might have been able to comfort him
if she had been given the opportunity. It was with some difficulty and
the exercise of considerable patience that her mother convinced her
that they had acted for the best.
"Some day I shall go to see him, mother," she had said with a
resoluteness that brought a strange gleam to the eyes of the older
woman. "I am sorry for him. He needs some one to love him. I am sure
he is not so wicked as--"
"You must be guided by what David says, my child. Remember that you
will have more than yourself to consider," was the evasive remark of
Mary Braddock.
Brooks was sent off with a letter to Dr. Browne, the rector,
requesting him to conduct the marriage ceremony. Maid-servants packed
Christine's trunks, all enjoined to secrecy.
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