"If it must be anyone."
"And, Shenac," continued her brother, "you must tell her so. She
fancies that for some things you will not like it, and she wants to put
it off for ever so long--till--till something happens--till you are
married yourself, I suppose."
Now Shenac was vexed. She was in the way--at least, Allister and Shenac
Dhu thought so. It was quite as well that the sound of footsteps gave
her no time to speak the words that rose to her lips. They were
overtaken by Mr Stewart and Hamish. It had been to see the minister
that they had all gone to Angus Dhu's, for he was going away in the
morning, and they did not know when they might see him again. It was
late, and the farewells were brief and earnest.
"God bless you, Shenac!" was all that Mr Stewart said; and Shenac
answered never a word.
"I'll walk a little way with you," said Allister. Hamish and Shenac
stood watching them till they passed through the gate, and then Shenac
sat down on the doorstep with a sigh, and laid her face upon her hands.
Hamish looked a little astonished, but he smiled too.
"He will come back again, Shenac," he said at last.
"Yes, I know," said she, rising slowly. "I must tell you before he
comes. We must not stay here. Come in; you will take cold. I don't
know what to think. He expected me to be pleased, and I shall be in a
little while, I think, after I have told you. Do you know it, Hamish?"
"I know--he told me; but I thought he had not spoken to you," said the
puzzled Hamish.
"Did Allister tell you? Are you glad, Hamish?"
"Allister?" repeated Hamish.
"Allister has asked Shenac Dhu to be his wife," said Shenac in a
whisper.
"Is that it? No, I had not heard that, though I thought it might be--
some time. You must have seen it, Shenac?"
"Seen it! the thought never came into my mind--never once--till he told
me to-night."
"Well, that's odd, too," said Hamish, smiling. "They say girls are
quick enough to see such things. Are you not pleased, Shenac?"
"I don't know. Should I be pleased, Hamish? I think perhaps in a
little while I shall be." Then she added, "It will make a great
difference."
"Will it?" asked Hamish. "Cousin Shenac has almost been like one of
ourselves so long."
"I suppose it is foolish, and maybe it is wrong, but it does seem to put
Allister farther from us--from me, at least. He seems less our own."
"Don't say that, Shenac dear," said her brother gently. "Allister can
never be less than a dear and loving brother to us all. It is very
natural and right that this should happen. It might have been a
stranger. We all love Shenac Dhu dearly."
"Yes," said Shenac; "I said that to Allister."
"And, Shenac, I am very glad this should happen. Allister will settle
down content, and be a good and useful man."
"He would have done that anyway," said Shenac, a little dolefully.
"He might, but he might not," said Hamish. "They say marriage is the
natural and proper state. I am glad for Allister, Shenac; and you will
be glad by-and-by. I wish I had known this a little sooner. I am very
glad, Shenac."
Shenac sighed. "I suppose it is altogether mean and miserable in me not
to be glad all at once; and I'll try to be. I suppose we must stay here
now, Hamish," she added, glancing round the low room.
"Do you think so?" said Hamish in surprise. "No, you must not say so.
I am sure it would grieve Cousin Shenac."
"There are so many of us, Hamish, and our mother is a great care; it
would not be fair to Shenac. I must stay here and take care of my
mother and you."
There was a long silence.
"Shenac," said her brother at last, "don't think about this just now;
don't make up your mind. It is not going to happen soon."
"Allister says soon, but Shenac says not till--" She stopped.
"Well, soon or late, never mind; it will all come right. Let us be more
anxious to do right than for anything else. God will guide us, Shenac.
Don't let us say anything to vex Allister. It would vex him greatly, I
know, to think that you and all of us would not go with him and Shenac."
"But it would not be fair to Shenac herself. Think what a large family
there is of us."
"Whisht, Shenac, there may be fewer of us soon. You may marry
yourself."
"And leave my mother and you?" Shenac smiled incredulously.
"Stranger things have happened," said her brother. "But, Shenac, our
mother will not be here long, and Allister's house is her place, and you
can care for her all the same there--better indeed. I am glad of this
marriage, for all our sakes. Shenac Dhu is like one of ourselves; she
will always care for the little ones as no stranger could, and for our
mother. It _is_ a little hard that _you_ should not have the first
place in the new house for a while, till you get a home of your own,
after all the care and trouble you have had for us here--"
"Do you think that has anything to do with it, Hamish?" said Shenac
reproachfully. "It never came into my mind; only when Allister told me
it seemed as though I would be so little to him now. Maybe you are
right, though. Everybody seems to think that I like to be first. I
know I have thought a great deal about the new house; but it has been
for the rest, and for Allister most of all."
"Shenac, you must not vex yourself thinking about it," said her brother.
"I am more glad of this for your sake than for all the rest. I cannot
tell you how glad I am."
"Well, I am glad too--I think I am glad; I think it will be all right,
Hamish. I am not really afraid of anything that can happen now."
"You need not be, dear; why should you be afraid even of trouble?" said
her brother. "And this is not trouble, but a great blessing for us
all."
But Shenac thought about it a great deal, and, I am afraid, vexed
herself somewhat, too. She did not see Shenac Dhu for a day or two, for
her cousin was away; and it was as well to have a little time to think
about it before she saw her. There came no order out of the confusion,
however, with all her thinking. That they were all to be one family she
knew was Allister's plan, and Hamish approved it, though the brothers
had not exchanged a word about the matter. But this did not seem the
best plan to her, nor did she think it would seem so to her cousin; it
was not best for any of them. She could do far better for her mother,
and Hamish too, living quietly in their present home; and the young
people would be better without them. Of course they must get their
living from the farm, at least partly; but she could do many things to
earn something. She could spin and knit, and she would get a loom and
learn to weave, and little Flora should help her.
"If Allister would only be convinced; but they will think I am vexed
about the house, and I don't think I really cared much about it for
myself--it was for Allister and the rest. Oh, if my mother were only
able to decide it, I do think she would agree with me about it."