"I am, my dear Amey,
"Your loving and sincere cousin,
"BESSIE NYLE."
My hands fell into my lap a second time; I was almost dazed with
astonishment. To think that at the very moment when I was puzzling
over the melancholy enigma, of where to find a home whose shelter
could be both generously given and comfortably received, this strange
but earnest offer should suggest itself.
Without a moment's hesitation or forethought, I sat down and wrote a
hurried reply, accepting with eager enthusiasm the shelter of her home
and love, adding, that circumstances would force me to avail myself of
her cordial hospitality even sooner, perhaps, than she expected, as my
step-mother was leaving the house in a week from that date and would
like to see me safely disposed of before her departure.
It was only when this letter was sealed and dispatched that I began to
analyse my extraordinary situation and its possible issues. It is true
that at the time of my decision I saw only a haven of rest rising out
of the gloom and mists that hung heavily about me, some definite
shelter from the storm of confusion and sorrow that had broken upon my
life so suddenly.
But when time wore on a little I began to question myself uneasily
about the step I had so precipitately taken. To act upon my cousin's
kind suggestion, was to go away from all my dearest and fondest
associations; it would oblige me to give up my past life, sorrows and
joys alike; to abandon the few friends, in whose companionship I had
found one of my rarest delights, and to go among strangers who could
not care for me except in a relative or, at most, an indirect way.
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