Betty clasped her hands, and sank on her knees, the sound made her
shudder from head to foot. She stopped her ears with trembling fingers,
but yet every word fell on them distinctly and would not be shut out.
"Aye, call him, call him over the lea,
Aye, well and well-a-day;
Lover will never come back to thee
Who loves and gallops away."
CHAPTER VII.
"How pale you are this morning, my child," said Mr. Ives to his
daughter.
"It is nothing. I have had a feverish night; the story of the fate of my
poor friend haunted me," she answered. She could not eat, the cold had
chilled her blood, and now and then she shivered painfully.
Betty sought her opportunity in spite of her bodily discomforts, and
fondly caressing her father's hands she knelt down by his chair.
"Father," she said. "Dear father, you know that very soon I am going to
leave you, to be married to my own true love. Our wedding-day is fixed,
but I dare say he will not be back much before then. Do you think he
will? Oh no, probably not."
"Why, child, to be sure he will! He will be back in a few days at the
outside. Why, silly child, you will make a poor wife if you fret always
when your husband is from home."
"But I do not fret. I am perfectly satisfied. Listen, dear father: when
I am married and gone away with my dear love, you will look round you
and see only my empty place, no hand to hold yours, no voice to welcome
you, no music to cheer you, no child to love you.
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