wa' feared ony vexation or opposition might do him an injury, so it wa' to be kept secret fra' him for a while. Ah! lassie, I tell ye I did na' like the lukes o' that—but what could I do but try to be patient?
"Weel, time wint on; I got letters fra' my Alice regularly, an' she wa' so happy, her husband wa' a' she could ask—an' I tried to feel satisfied.
"In little mair than a year I got word fra' her that the auld laird, her husband's father, wa' mair dangerous—they feared something wa' wrong aboot his head, an' his doctors haed ordered him awa' for his health, an' he wad na' gae without his on'y son went too—an' as he haed na' told of his marriage, an' dare na', he could na' be excused.
"So as Alice wa' in delicate health, her husband wad na' lave her amang strangers, an' he haed gi'en consint she should come hame an' stay wi' me while he wa' gone. An', oh! she wa' as blithe as a bird at the thought o' seeing me, an' Tibbie, an' the auld hame again; an' ye may think I wa' nae less delightit at the chance to see my bonnie bairn.
