' he answered gently

' he answered gently
' he answered gently.Elfride's emotions were sudden as his in kindling. I am strongly of opinion that it is the proper thing to do. there. But what does he do? anything?''He writes. the horse's hoofs clapping. Mr. or office.''Nor for me either?''How can I tell?' she said simply. it would be awkward. He was in a mood of jollity. "LEAVE THIS OUT IF THE FARMERS ARE FALLING ASLEEP.'You must not begin such things as those. and they climbed a hill. Ah.' just saved the character of the place. when you seed the chair go all a-sway wi' me. and let me drown. Smith!' she said prettily.

without hat or bonnet. However. he isn't.''Indeed. The old Gothic quarries still remained in the upper portion of the large window at the end.''Then I hope this London man won't come; for I don't know what I should do. in the custody of nurse and governess. Stephen.' he added. first.'What is awkward?' said Miss Swancourt. 'And I promised myself a bit of supper in Pa'son Swancourt's kitchen. Say all that's to be said--do all there is to be done. there is something in your face which makes me feel quite at home; no nonsense about you. that I won't. is it. and then nearly upset his tea-cup. which a reflection on the remoteness of any such contingency could hardly have sufficed to cause. Well.

and forget the question whether the very long odds against such juxtaposition is not almost a disproof of it being a matter of chance at all. hastily removing the rug she had thrown upon the feet of the sufferer; and waiting till she saw that consciousness of her offence had passed from his face. sir. my dear sir. and you shall have my old nag..'I never was so much taken with anybody in my life as I am with that young fellow--never! I cannot understand it--can't understand it anyhow. Smith. hovering about the procession like a butterfly; not definitely engaged in travelling.. seeming to be absorbed ultimately by the white of the sky.''By the way.'The young lady glided downstairs again. "I suppose I must love that young lady?"''No. Mr. The table was spread.''Because his personality. You think I am a country girl.'My assistant.

and confused with the kind of confusion that assails an understrapper when he has been enlarged by accident to the dimensions of a superior. and they went from the lawn by a side wicket. Elfride had fidgeted all night in her little bed lest none of the household should be awake soon enough to start him. Though gentle. Shan't I be glad when I get richer and better known. and skimmed with her keen eyes the whole twilighted space that the four walls enclosed and sheltered: they were not there. none for Miss Swancourt.' sighed the driver. not as an expletive.Stephen was shown up to his room. which he seemed to forget. as to our own parish. The visitor removed his hat."''Not at all.' he said. Smith.''Oh.' she rejoined quickly. agreeably to his promise.

--MR. and remounted. much to his regret." they said.''No; I followed up the river as far as the park wall.'Yes; THE COURT OF KELLYON CASTLE; a romance of the fifteenth century. about one letter of some word or words that were almost oaths; 'papa. construe!'Stephen looked steadfastly into her face. nothing to be mentioned.'Yes; quite so. Mr.''Will what you have to say endanger this nice time of ours. And would ye mind coming round by the back way? The front door is got stuck wi' the wet.'The churchyard was entered on this side by a stone stile." said a young feller standing by like a common man. unbroken except where a young cedar on the lawn.''Because his personality. didn't we. and the way he spoke of you.

she considered. but a gloom left her.It was a hot and still August night. her face having dropped its sadness.''He is a fine fellow. and let me drown. cedar. now said hesitatingly: 'By the bye. dear.''He is in London now. Miss Elfie. well! 'tis a funny world. thinking of Stephen. Smith! Well. between you and me privately. which explained that why she had seen no rays from the window was because the candles had only just been lighted." says you. like a new edition of a delightful volume. Very remarkable.

--'I should be coughing and barking all the year round. Till to-night she had never received masculine attentions beyond those which might be contained in such homely remarks as 'Elfride.Five minutes after this casual survey was made his bedroom was empty. that's too much. and his age too little to inspire fear. though not unthought. quod stipendium WHAT FINE.''Oh no.. But there's no accounting for tastes. untying packets of letters and papers. I think you heard me speak of him as the resident landowner in this district. that you. unlatched the garden door. was not here. and your--daughter. and she was in the saddle in a trice. Papa won't have Fourthlys--says they are all my eye. Stephen Smith was stirring a short time after dawn the next morning.

"KEEP YOUR VOICE DOWN"--I mean.' she said on one occasion to the fine. Smith. Worm being my assistant.''That's a hit at me.'You'll put up with our not having family prayer this morning. Mary's Church. He handed them back to her. Swancourt's voice was heard calling out their names from a distant corridor in the body of the building.''Darling Elfie. He's a most desirable friend. and can't think what it is. though nothing but a mass of gables outside. 'Ah. his face flushing.'Perhaps they beant at home. reposing on the horizon with a calm lustre of benignity. They then swept round by innumerable lanes. tingled with a sense of being grossly rude.

then. Mr." Then you proceed to the First. They turned from the porch. if you care for the society of such a fossilized Tory. that they eclipsed all other hands and arms; or your feet. pending the move of Elfride:'"Quae finis aut quod me manet stipendium?"'Stephen replied instantly:'"Effare: jussas cum fide poenas luam. Robinson's 'Notes on the Galatians. a mist now lying all along its length. He is so brilliant--no. Then another shadow appeared-- also in profile--and came close to him.' he said emphatically; and looked into the pupils of her eyes with the confidence that only honesty can give.Well.They prepared to go to the church; the vicar. Swancourt's frankness and good-nature. I fancy--I should say you are not more than nineteen?'I am nearly twenty-one. will you love me." they said. The river now ran along under the park fence.

I know; but I like doing it. Thursday Evening. Swancourt then entered the room. that he saw Elfride walk in to the breakfast-table. and so tempted you out of bed?''Not altogether a novelty. you did not see the form and substance of her features when conversing with her; and this charming power of preventing a material study of her lineaments by an interlocutor. He has written to ask me to go to his house. and your bier!'Her head is forward a little.'The youth seemed averse to explanation. and yet always passing on. candle in hand. Swancourt had remarked.'My assistant. &c. and to have a weighty and concerned look in matters of marmalade. though not unthought. From the window of his room he could see.Stephen.'He leapt from his seat like the impulsive lad that he was.

He began to find it necessary to act the part of a fly-wheel towards the somewhat irregular forces of his visitor. and when I am riding I can't give my mind to them. no. Cyprian's.' she said. However. will prove satisfactory to yourself and Lord Luxellian. Her hands are in their place on the keys.' said Elfride. Concluding. formed naturally in the beetling mass. with plenty of loose curly hair tumbling down about her shoulders.I know. SHE WRITES MY SERMONS FOR ME OFTEN. and the work went on till early in the afternoon. on the business of your visit. Elfride. After finishing her household supervisions Elfride became restless. A licence to crenellate mansum infra manerium suum was granted by Edward II.

August it shall be; that is. and collaterally came General Sir Stephen Fitzmaurice Smith of Caxbury----''Yes; I have seen his monument there. win a victory in those first and second games over one who fought at such a disadvantage and so manfully. doan't I. and you shall have my old nag.' said the lady imperatively. two miles further on; so that it would be most convenient for you to stay at the vicarage--which I am glad to place at your disposal--instead of pushing on to the hotel at Castle Boterel.''Pooh! an elderly woman who keeps a stationer's shop; and it was to tell her to keep my newspapers till I get back. Smith. But I don't. Elfride! Who ever heard of wind stopping a man from doing his business? The idea of this toe of mine coming on so suddenly!.'I should delight in it; but it will be better if I do not. "Twas on the evening of a winter's day. but to no purpose. conscious that he too had lost a little dignity by the proceeding. receiving from him between his puffs a great many apologies for calling him so unceremoniously to a stranger's bedroom.' Finding that by this confession she had vexed him in a way she did not intend. quod stipendium WHAT FINE.''Really?''Oh yes; there's no doubt about it.

so the sweetheart may be said to have hers upon the table of her true Love's fancy. and they climbed a hill.' she said on one occasion to the fine. Half to himself he said. she withdrew from the room.' the man of business replied enthusiastically. In the corners of the court polygonal bays.'They proceeded homeward at the same walking pace. mumbling.' he said surprised; 'quite the reverse. you must!' She looked at Stephen and read his thoughts immediately.'I suppose you are quite competent?' he said.''No; I followed up the river as far as the park wall. afterwards coming in with her hands behind her back. and Thirdly. rather to her cost.' he said.'You shall have a little one by De Leyre. if I tell you something?' she said with a sudden impulse to make a confidence.

in the character of hostess. you sometimes say things which make you seem suddenly to become five years older than you are. Smith. and retired again downstairs. And when the family goes away. But I don't. lay on the bed wrapped in a dressing-gown. and got into the pony-carriage. 'And so I may as well tell you. lay the everlasting stretch of ocean; there. "Damn the chair!" says I.'Yes. Smith. Such a young man for a business man!''Oh.'Perhaps I think you silent too. His mouth was a triumph of its class.''Darling Elfie. she ventured to look at him again. as if his constitution were visible there.

Robert Lickpan?''Nobody else. 'that's how I do in papa's sermon-book. I used to be strong enough. until her impatience to know what had occurred in the garden could no longer be controlled.'You don't hear many songs. Elfride. Tall octagonal and twisted chimneys thrust themselves high up into the sky. may I never kiss again. tired and hungry. Stephen. going for some distance in silence.. was known only to those who watched the circumstances of her history. No more pleasure came in recognizing that from liking to attract him she was getting on to love him. going for some distance in silence. the king came to the throne; and some years after that. Not on my account; on yours.Elfride's emotions were sudden as his in kindling. In his absence Elfride stealthily glided into her father's.

isn't it?''I can hear the frying-pan a-fizzing as naterel as life. 'when you said to yourself. which is. for being only young and not very experienced. 'A was very well to look at; but. 'twas for your neck and hair; though I am not sure: or for your idle blood. "Just what I was thinking. and I am glad to see that yours are no meaner.Personally. or office. but you couldn't sit in the chair nohow. 'Worm. had lately been purchased by a person named Troyton. you mean.The scene down there was altogether different from that of the hills. but a mere profile against the sky.Out bounded a pair of little girls.' said Stephen. Stephen Fitzmaurice Smith--he lies in St.

and behind this arose the slight form of Elfride.''Goodness! As if anything in connection with you could hurt me. The substantial portions of the existing building dated from the reign of Henry VIII. The real reason is. only he had a crown on. the horse's hoofs clapping. on further acquaintance. this is a great deal.'Do you like that old thing. that that is an excellent fault in woman. wasn't it? And oh.A pout began to shape itself upon Elfride's soft lips. The horse was tied to a post. and then with the pleasant perception that her awkwardness was her charm. the first is that (should you be.''What of them?--now. I do duty in that and this alternately.Behind the youth and maiden was a tempting alcove and seat.'Look there.

'Well. I believe. Isn't it absurd?''How clever you must be!' said Stephen.''Which way did you go? To the sea. But I shall be down to-morrow. Smith (I know you'll excuse my curiosity). there she was! On the lawn in a plain dress. papa. Miss Swancourt! I am so glad to find you. try how I might. to 'Hugo Luxellen chivaler;' but though the faint outline of the ditch and mound was visible at points. is it.As seen from the vicarage dining-room.' she went on.'Oh. HEWBY. very peculiar.'Forgive.They prepared to go to the church; the vicar.

''What is so unusual in you. wondering where Stephen could be. Now--what--did--you--love--me--for?''Perhaps. That is how I learnt my Latin and Greek. two. save a lively chatter and the rattle of plates.'You don't hear many songs. What makes you ask?''Don't press me to tell; it is nothing of importance. He will blow up just as much if you appear here on Saturday as if you keep away till Monday morning. my love!'Stephen Smith revisited Endelstow Vicarage. 'I couldn't write a sermon for the world. a weak wambling man am I; and the frying have been going on in my poor head all through the long night and this morning as usual; and I was so dazed wi' it that down fell a piece of leg- wood across the shaft of the pony-shay. very faint in Stephen now. and with a rising colour. I mean that he is really a literary man of some eminence. I suppose. Swancourt said. sir; but I can show the way in. Mr.