"I"m sure we will; I"m happy anywhere with you, my dear, dear papa,"
said Grace, putting an arm round his neck and pressing her lips to his cheek.
"So am I," said Lulu, "unless I have been doing wrong, and papa is displeased with me. Oh, I do mean to try my very hardest to be good! and I"m sure it will be ever so much easier with you for my tutor, dear papa, than it was before, going to that horrid school and having to take music lessons from that Signor Foresti, who was so ill-tempered and struck me, when I was trying as hard as I could to play my piece just right."
"Yes, daughter, I think it will be easier for you with the tutor who loves you and is loved by you," a.s.sented the captain, drawing her into a close, loving embrace. "We must see if a music teacher is to be had here, but certainly will not try Signor Foresti again."
"Oh, I am glad to hear you say that, papa! though I never thought you would send me back to him again. I am, oh, so glad I belong to you instead of to--anybody else."
"So am I," he responded, with a happy little laugh.
"And that I do too, papa?" asked Grace, in a half-pleading tone.
"Yes, yes, my own darling," he said, addressing her with great tenderness. "You are no less dear than your sister."
"How good in you, papa! for I"m not half so bright or pretty as Lu," she said, patting his cheek with her small white hand.
"Why, Gracie!" exclaimed Lulu, "whatever put such a thing as that into your head? You are far prettier, and better too, than I am. Isn"t she, papa?"
"You must not ask me such hard questions," he returned laughingly, and hugging them both up in his arms, "I really could not say that either one is prettier or dearer to me than the other, or that I love either more or less than I do each of the other three. The love differs somewhat in kind, but, I think, not in intensity."
"Yes, papa, I suppose so," returned Lulu thoughtfully; "for instance you must have quite a different sort of love for Max, who is almost old enough to take care of himself, and baby Ned who is so very young and helpless."
Violet joined them at that moment, reported the babies as fast asleep in the nursery, and consulted her husband as to what rooms they should occupy during their stay; saying her mother had kindly bade them please themselves in regard to that matter.
"Choose for yourself, my dear," replied the captain, "and I shall be entirely satisfied; only I should like to have these children close at hand--a door of communication between their room, or rooms, and ours, if that can be easily managed. We must be near the babies of course."
"Yes, indeed! Near every one of our four," returned Violet brightly; "I could not be easy otherwise, any more than their father.
"But suppose I take you over the house, if you are not too tired.
To-morrow, you remember, is Sunday, and I could hardly wait till Monday, to say nothing of the curiosity that must of course be consuming you."
"Of course," returned the captain laughingly, as he rose and gave her his arm; "it will give me great pleasure to accompany you, if you are not too weary for such exertion."
"Not a bit," she said; "the trip on the boat was more restful than fatiguing; at least so far as concerned myself. May not Lulu and Gracie come too?"
"If they wish; though I fear Gracie is too tired," he said, with an inquiring glance at her. "If you would like to go, pet, papa will carry you up the stairs."
"Oh, then, I would like to, papa; I"m not so very tired," she answered eagerly.
"Then of course Lulu is not?" he said with a smiling glance at his eldest daughter.
"No, indeed, papa; and I"d dearly love to go along," she answered, taking Gracie"s hand and with her tripping along in the rear, as he and Violet pa.s.sed on into the wide hall.
They first inspected the rooms on the lower floor, lingering longest in the drawing-room, where the many beautiful paintings and pieces of statuary were very attractive.
"We cannot give them half enough time to-night," remarked Violet, "but fortunately have good reason to hope for many opportunities for future inspection."
"Yes," the captain said, glancing at Grace, then at his watch. "Shall we not call in the servants and have prayers before going upstairs? It is not far from the usual time, and I see Gracie is growing weary."
Violet gave a ready a.s.sent and led the way to the family parlor where her grandfather had been wont to hold that service.
The servants were summoned and came in looking well pleased. The captain made the service short out of consideration for Gracie"s weariness, though, indeed, he never thought it well to lengthen it so much as to risk making it a weariness to either children or servants.
A few directions in regard to securing doors and windows for the night and as to what should be done for the comfort of the family in the morning, then he, Violet, and the little girls, having exchanged kindly good-nights with the servants, went on up the broad stairway, the captain, according to promise, carrying Grace in his arms.
Only a hasty survey of the upper rooms was taken that night, for all began to feel the need of rest and sleep. Apartments connected with each other and the nursery were selected for occupation, and soon all were resting peacefully in their beds.
CHAPTER XVII.
The Sabbath morning dawned bright and clear. Lulu rose with the sun and, before he was an hour high, was down on the veranda, gazing with delight upon the lovely landscape spread out at her feet.
So absorbed in its beauties was she that she failed to hear an approaching footstep, and was aware of her father"s presence only when he laid a hand gently on her head and, bending down, imprinted a kiss on her lips.
"An early bird as usual, my darling!" he said.
"Yes, sir, like my father, my dear, dear father," she returned, twining her arms around his neck and holding him fast for a moment.
"Did you sleep well?" he asked, releasing himself and taking her hand in his.
"Oh, yes, indeed, papa! Did not you?"
"I did; I think we all did," he answered. "G.o.d has been very good to us.
And what a lovely, lovely Sunday morning it is!"
"We can all go to church, can"t we, papa?" she asked.
"I think so," he said. "And now you would like to walk down across the lawn, to the water"s edge, with me?"
"Oh, yes, indeed, papa," she cried delightedly. "It was just what I was wanting to do."
"It might be well for you to have a bit of something to eat first," he said. "Ah, here is just the thing!" as a servant approached with a waiter on which were some oranges prepared for eating in the way Grandma Elsie had enjoyed them in her young days.
"Thank you, Aunt Sally," the captain said, helping Lulu and himself; "you could have brought us nothing more tempting and delicious. Will you please carry some up to my wife?"
"Ise done it already, sah," replied the woman, smiling all over her face, and dropping a courtesy; "yes, sah; an" she say dey"s mighty nice, jes like she hab when she"s heah in dis place yeahs ago."
"Papa," remarked Lulu, as they presently crossed the lawn together, "I"m so glad to be here again, and with you. It was a delightful place the other time, I thought, but, oh, it seems twice as pleasant now, because my dear father is with us!" and she lifted her eyes to his face with a look of ardent affection.
"Dear child, it is a great pleasure to me to be with you and the rest,"
he returned, pressing affectionately the little hand he held in his, "and if you do not have a happier time than you had here before, it shall not be because your father does not try to make it so.
"But, my dear little daughter, remember you have the same spiritual foes to fight here as in other places. If you would be happy you must try to live very near to Jesus and to watch and pray lest you enter into temptation. Particularly must you be ever on your guard against that quick temper which has so often got you into trouble."
"Papa, I do intend to," she said, with a sigh; "and I am very glad I shall have you close at hand all the time to help me in the fight; for you do help me, oh, so often--so much, dear papa!" and again she lifted loving eyes to his face.