“Oh, not quite so bad as that! not quite so bad, I hope!  But you should have written to me, my dear Miss Sherwood, and told me about it.  You have managed wonderfully.  I have come prepared to settle all accounts and arrange about the future; but, by the way, I have something here for yourself,” taking a package from his breast-pocket, and handing it to her.  “Your father directed me to give you this.  Oh, it is all right!” as Dexie exposed a roll of bills.  “Your father explained it to me the last time I saw him, and I think myself it is only fair that the daughter who watched over him and waited on him so faithfully should be especially remembered.  It is all right, and will come in very handy when the wedding comes off.  There! don’t mind me!  Your father told me all about it, and explained many things which I need not have known if there had been any chance of his recovery.  But he knew someone must take an interest in you as a family, and I am paid to do it, so it is all right, and the money is justly your own, for you helped to earn it—­yes, this was received from his publishers for the work you helped him to do.”

“But I have a twin sister, Mr. Hackett,” Dexie began, as she counted the bills in her hand, “and I ought to share this with her.”

“Not at all! not at all, Miss Sherwood,” was the decided answer.  “Your mother will supply your sister’s wants willingly, which I fear would not be the case with yourself, if you were left to her generosity.  Pardon my plain-speaking, Miss Sherwood; it is sometimes necessary, and I know what I am talking about.  It is your father’s gift—­a wedding present, if you like to call it—­and is intended for yourself alone, and in my opinion is not half what you deserve, there!  I am an old man, comparatively speaking, but my eyes are young yet.”

Dexie led the way to Mrs. Sherwood’s room, where her mother was anxiously awaiting the appearance of the lawyer.  She had become quite alarmed at the want of money, and insisted that Dexie must have been wilfully extravagant.  But as Dexie produced all the accounts, and went over them before Mr. Hackett, Mrs. Sherwood was obliged to confess that the blame was not all on Dexie’s shoulders, though she thought some of the bills extremely exorbitant, and could not be convinced that the extras which Gussie had ordered made such a difference.

Mrs. Sherwood found the interview with the lawyer very satisfactory, and she viewed with pleasure the roll of bills he left for their immediate use; and, at the sight of it, Gussie made a mental list of various luxurious articles she had long desired to possess.

Dexie was putting the desk in order when Mr. Hackett returned through the room, and he stopped for a few minutes’ conversation with her while he drew on his gloves.

“I omitted to tell your mother, Miss Sherwood, that the woman to whom I referred when I was here before, will be ready to engage with you in about two weeks.  Both she and her husband have excellent references, and I think they will suit very well.  I believe you will find them both very trustworthy and worth waiting for.  Do not hesitate to write to me if any difficulty should arise,” and bidding her a cordial “Good-bye” he left the house.