Christmas Day was the worst of the whole time; outside everything was
wet and dripping, and even indoors the air felt raw and chilly,
penetrating to the bones, and resulting in a continual state of shivers.
There was no bright Christmas service for Selina that morning: she must
remain at home and look after her charge, for, save the invalid, the
servants and herself, the house was empty.
But there was one glad moment for her--the arrival of the postman. He
was late, of course, but when he did come he brought her a budget of
letters and parcels that convinced her she was not forgotten by her
absent schoolgirl friends. With a hasty glance over them, she put them
on one side until after dinner, when, her patient having been seen to,
she would have a certain amount of time to herself.
But that one glance had been sufficient to bring a flush of pleasure to
her cheeks, and to invest the gloomy day with a happiness that before
was absent. She had recognised on one envelope an address in a bold,
firm writing, very different from the neat, schoolgirl caligraphy of the
rest; and when her hour of leisure arrived, and over a roaring fire she
was able to examine her presents and letters, this one big envelope was
reserved to the last.
[Sidenote: Romance]
Her fingers trembled as she opened the still damp covering, and saw a
large card with a raised satin medallion in the centre, on which were
printed two verses, the words of which caused the hot colour to remount
to her cheeks, and her heart to redouble its beats.
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