You are not to know what is in it; it must be a complete secret.

Do you understand ?" Sybil thought she did, but her heart sank.

"When shall you give me this letter ?" she asked.
"The evening before I start, when I come to bid good-bye; probably next Sunday.

This letter is our last hope.

If, after reading that, she does not give him up, you will have to pack your trunk, my dear Sybil, and find a new home, for you can never live with them." He had never before called her by her first name, and it pleased her to hear it now, though she generally had a strong objection to such familiarities.
"Oh, I wish you were not going!" she exclaimed tearfully.