Alice insisted on going to Queen Anne Street in a cab by herself. Mr. Palliser had offered a carriage, and Mr. Grey, of course, offered himself as a protector; but she would have neither the one nor the other. If he had gone with her he might by chance have met her father, and she was most anxious that she should not be encumbered by her lover's presence when she first received her father's congratulations. They had slept at Dover, and had come up by a mid-day train. When she reached Queen Anne Street, the house was desolate, and she might therefore have allowed Mr. Grey to attend her. But she found a letter waiting for her which made her for the moment forget both him and her father. Lady Macleod, at Cheltenham, was very ill, and wished to see her niece, as she said, before she died. "I have got your letter," said the kind old woman, "and am now quite happy. It only wanted that to reconcile me to my departure. I thought through it all that my girl would be happy at last. 
Alice insisted on going to Queen Anne Street in a cab by herself. She wished to be alone when she first received her father's congratulations. But when she reached Queen Anne Street, the house was desolate. She found a letter waiting for her which made her forget everything else. Lady Macleod, at Cheltenham, was very ill, and wished to see her niece before she died.
"I have got your letter," said the kind old woman, "and am now quite happy, because my girl will be happy at last. 