The  bare  outline  of  what  had  happened  she  had  heard
at  the  station,  and  she  had  seen  her  brother  for  a  few
moments  in  the  hall ;  but  beyond  that  she  knew  no-
thing. Very  few  words  had  passed  between  her  and
Colonel  Middleton,  He  had  brought  her  at  once  to
the  door  of  Mervyn's  sitting-room,  and  had  left  her
to  enter  alone,  while  he  went  to  tell  his  wife  of  her
arrival.
So  that  Mervyn's  explanations  were  fully  needed.
He  gave  her  an  account  of  all  that  had  happened,  from
the  night  of  the  county  ball.  He  enlarged  upon  the
state  of  affairs  between  mother  and  daughter,  and
painted  a  vivid  picture  of  the  lovelessness  of  the
Granton  atmosphere,  and  of  how  he  had  suffered  from
it.
His  mother  drew  him  to  her  when  he  spoke  of  these
things,  softly  whispering,  *  It  is  all  over  now ; '  and
Mervyn  put  his  head  on  her  shoulder,  with  a  delicious
feeling  of  security  and  peace.  But  .his  mind  was  more
full  of  the  recent  events  than  of  his  own  bygone  troubles,
and  he  returned  to  the  subject  of  Nina.
