Page:Elizabeth Jordan--Tales of the city room.djvu/214

 beautiful darlings!" she whispered, as she went to them and laid her face against them. To her excited fancy they seemed to laugh up at her. "Here we are again," they said. "It's all right,—everything is unchanged;" and the whole world was brighter for the assurance. She lit the gas hastily and rang the bell. There had been no letter with the flowers, the little maid told her. They had come without a card about four that afternoon, and she had taken them out of the box and put them in water as she knew Mademoiselle would have wished. The box? But yes, here it is—a large and ornate affair, with the name of a famous florist on its cover in gold letters. This unusual feature surprised and temporarily disturbed Miss Bancroft. Never before had the Shadow sent her such a clew. Surely, if she wished, it would be comparatively easy to trace him now. She dismissed the idea from her mind for the present. He was still her friend, and all was well with him. He had sent her the roses to tell her so. That was enough.

She dressed for dinner in high spirits,