"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. G.o.d 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."

She thought and thought till she was weary, and it all came to this:--

"I will wait and see what will happen, and I will trust. Surely nothing can go wrong when G.o.d guides us. At any rate, I shall say nothing to vex Allister or Shenac; but I wish it was well over."

It was the first visit to Shenac Dhu which, partly from shyness and partly from some other feeling, she did dread a little; but she need not have feared it so much. She did not have to put a constraint on herself to _seem_ glad; for the very first glimpse she caught of Shenac's sweet, kind face put all her vexed thoughts to flight, and she was really and truly glad for Allister and for herself too.

She went to her uncle's one night, not at all expecting to see her cousin; but she had returned sooner than was expected, and when she went in she found her sitting with her father and Allister. Shenac did not see her brother, however. She hastily greeted her uncle, and going straight to her cousin put her arms round her neck and kissed her many times. Shenac Dhu looked up in surprise.

"I know it now, Cousin Shenac," said Allister's sister; and in a moment Allister's arms were round them both. It was Angus Dhu's turn to be surprised now. He had not been so startled since the day that Shenac Bhan told him her mind down by the creek. The girls escaped, and Allister explained how matters stood. The old man was pleased, but he grumbled a little, too, at the thought of losing his last daughter.

"You must make an exchange, Allister, my man. If you could give us your Shenac--"

Allister laughed. In his heart he thought his sister too good to be sent there, and he was very glad he had not the matter to decide.

"Shenac, my woman," said the old man as they were going away, "I wonder at you being so willing to give up the fine new house. I think it is very good in you."

"I would not--to anybody else," said she, laughing.

"But she's not going to give it up, father," said Shenac Dhu eagerly.

"Well, well, maybe not, if you can keep her."

Shenac still pondered over the question of what would be best for them all, and wearied herself with it many a time; but she gave none the less interest to the progress of the house and its belongings. She spun the wool for the carpet, and bleached the new linen to snowy whiteness, and made all other preparations just the same as if she were to have the guiding and governing of the household. She was glad with Allister and glad with Shenac, and, for herself and the rest, quite content to wait and see what time would bring to pa.s.s.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

But a day came when Shenac saw how needless all her anxious thoughts about her mother's future had been, when she acknowledged, with tears of mingled sorrow and joy, that she had tenderer care and safer keeping than son or daughter could give.

All through the long harvest-days the mother failed slowly--so slowly that even the watchful eyes of Shenac did not see how surely. Then, as the autumn wore away, and the increasing cold no longer permitted the daily sitting in the sunshine, the change became more rapid. Then there was a time of sharper suffering. The long days and nights lingered out into weeks, and then all suffering was over--the tired heart ceased to struggle with the burden of life, and the widow was laid to rest beside her husband and son.

That this was a time of great sorrow in the household need not be told.

Neighbours came from far and near with offers of help and sympathy. All that kind hearts and experienced hands could do to aid these young people in the care of their suffering mother was done; but all was only a little. It was the strong arm of Allister which lifted and laid down, and moved unceasingly, the never-resting form of the mother. It was Shenac who smoothed her pillow and moistened her lips, and performed all the numberless offices so necessary to the sick, yet too often so useless to soothe pain. It was the voice of Hamish that sometimes had the power to soothe to quietness, if not to repose, the ever-moaning sufferer. Friends came with counsel and encouragement, but her children never left her through all. It was a terrible time to them. Their mother's failure had been so gradual that the thought of her death had not been forced upon them; and, quite unaccustomed to the sight of so great suffering, as the days and nights wore on, bringing no change, no respite, but ever the same moaning and agony, they looked into one another's faces appalled. It was terrible; but it came to an end at last. They could not sorrow for her when the close came. They rejoiced rather that she had found rest. But they were motherless and desolate.

It was a very hushed and sorrowful home that night, when all the friends who had returned with them from the grave were gone, and the children were alone together; and for many days after that. If this trouble had come upon them a year ago, there would have been some danger that the silence and sadness that rested upon them might have changed to gloom and despondency on Shenac's part; for she felt that her mother's death had "unsettled old foundations," and when she looked forward to what her life might be now, it was not always that she could do so hopefully.

But she was quiet and not impatient--willing to wait and see what time might bring to them all.

By-and-by the affairs of the house and of the farm fell back into the old routine, and life flowed quietly on. The new house made progress.

It was so nearly completed that they had intended to remove to it about the time their mother became worse. The work went on through all their time of trouble, and one after another the workmen went away; but nothing was said of any change to be made, till the year was drawing to a close. It was Hamish who spoke of it then, first to Shenac and then to Allister; and before Christmas they were quite settled in their new home.

Christmas pa.s.sed, and the new year came in, and a month or two more went by, and then one night Shenac said to her brother,--

"Allister, when are you going to bring Shenac home?"

Allister had been the gravest and quietest of them all during the time that had pa.s.sed since their mother's death. He was silent, though he started a little when his sister spoke. In a moment she came close to him, and standing behind him, laid her hand on his shoulder, and said softly,--

"It would be no disrespect to the memory of our mother, coming now.

Hamish says so too. Shenac is not like a stranger; and it might be very quiet." Allister turned and touched with his lips the hand that lay on his shoulder, and then drew her down on the seat beside him. This was one of the things which made Allister so different from other people in Shenac's eyes. Even Hamish, loving and kind as he was, had not Allister's gentle, caressing ways. A touch, a smile, a fond word, came so naturally from him; and these were all the more sweet to Shenac because she was shy of giving such tokens herself, even where she loved best.

"If Shenac would come," said Allister.

Shenac smiled. "And will she not?"

"Should I ask it now, dear?"