"She's always in bed now; the house
is dreadful, Ned, without you, and they say you are not to come
back yet," and the tears came very near to overflowing again.
"Ah! well, I hope I shall be back before long, Lucy."
"I hope so," Lucy said; "but you know you will soon be going away
again to be a soldier."
"I shall not go away again now, Lucy," Ned said quietly. "When I
come back it will be for good."
"Oh! that will be nice," Lucy said joyously, "just as it used to
be, with no one to be cross and scold about everything."
"Hush! little woman, don't talk about that. He had his faults, dear,
as we all have, but he had a great deal to worry him, and perhaps
we did not make allowances enough for him, and I do think he was
really fond of you, Lucy, and when people are dead we should never
speak ill of them."
"I don't want to," Lucy said, "and I didn't want him to be fond of
me when he wasn't fond of you and Charlie or mother. It seems to
me he wasn't fond of mother, and yet she does nothing but cry; I
can't make that out, can you?"
Ned did not answer; his mother's infatuation for Mr. Mulready had
always been a puzzle to him, and he could at present think of no
reply which would be satisfactory to Lucy.
A constable now came in and said that there were other visitors
waiting to see Ned. He then withdrew, leaving the lad to say goodby
to his brother and sister alone.
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