Page:Leah Reed--Brenda's summer at Rockley.djvu/272



Julia the visit to Eliza in Maine had all the charm of novelty. Her uncle and aunt had yielded to her urgent request, and she had been permitted to travel alone from  Beverly. At Beverly she had taken the train on the main line, and there she had parted with Brenda, who was  to take the branch road for Manchester-by-the-sea. Julia had been invited to join her on this visit to Edith, and  she had promised to shorten her visit to Maine by a few  days in order to have a little time at Manchester-by-the-sea before her return to Rockley and the wedding.

“I can’t imagine how I am to get along without my two young relatives-to-be,” said Mr. Weston, laughing, as  he bade them good-bye. He had insisted on going to Beverly with them, and he had presented each of them  with a large box of nougat to console her on the way.

“I shall certainly be unable,” he continued, “to go on any more pilgrimages, and I shall be driven to—”

“Devote yourself to Agnes,” cried Brenda, as the train came in sight.

“That’s just it,” responded Mr. Weston; “she won’t let me. She’s so wrapped up in her old friends, and so busy getting things for the wedding, that—”