The idea of her absence from
home for ever was too strange, too heartrending to be at once
embraced, and as she neared the end of her journey on that long day,
Carey's mind was chiefly fixed on the yearning to be with her husband
and Janet, who had suffered such a shock without her. She seemed
more able to feel through her husband-—who was so devoted to his
mother, than for herself, and she was every moment more uneasy about
her little daughter, who must have been in the room with her
grandmother. Comfort them? How, she did not know! The others had
always petted and comforted her, and now—- No one to go to when the
children were ailing or naughty-—no one to share little anxieties
when Joe was out late—-no one to be the backbone she leant on—-no
dear welcome from the easy chair. That thought nearly set her
crying; the tears burnt in her strained eyes, but the sight of the
people opposite braced her, and she tried to fix her thoughts on the
unseen world, but they only wandered wide as if beyond her own
control, and her head was aching enough to confuse her.
At last, late on the long summer day, she was at the terminus, and
with a heart beating so fast that she could hardly breathe, found
herself in a cab, driving up to her own door, just as the twilight
was darkening.
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