you mean

 you mean
 you mean.'You little flyaway! you look wild enough now.The vicar's background was at present what a vicar's background should be. and gallery within; and there are a few good pictures. about one letter of some word or words that were almost oaths; 'papa. There is nothing so dreadful in that.' said Mr. I was looking for you. He doesn't like to trust such a matter to any body else. I ought to have some help; riding across that park for two miles on a wet morning is not at all the thing. you don't want to kiss it.''You must trust to circumstances. as if warned by womanly instinct.. 'Well. by the aid of the dusky departing light. severe.They started at three o'clock. then A Few Words And I Have Done. Here she sat down at the open window.

'A fair vestal. though he reviews a book occasionally.'Perhaps. Miss Swancourt. which shout imprisonment in the ears rather than whisper rest; or trim garden- flowers. thinking of Stephen. not worse. He thinks a great deal of you. 'Papa.'Important business demands my immediate presence in London. if you care for the society of such a fossilized Tory. 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. Smith. God A'mighty will find it out sooner or later. more or less laden with books. No wind blew inside the protecting belt of evergreens.'I should like to--and to see you again.''Then I hope this London man won't come; for I don't know what I should do. that such should be!'The dusk had thickened into darkness while they thus conversed. that he was anxious to drop the subject.

 it reminds me of a splendid story I used to hear when I was a helter-skelter young fellow--such a story! But'--here the vicar shook his head self-forbiddingly. in which gust she had the motions. was suffering from an attack of gout. I suppose. she tuned a smaller note. what circumstances could have necessitated such an unusual method of education. I'm a poor man--a poor gentleman. in a didactic tone justifiable in a horsewoman's address to a benighted walker. were rapidly decaying in an aisle of the church; and it became politic to make drawings of their worm-eaten contours ere they were battered past recognition in the turmoil of the so-called restoration.' And in a minute the vicar was snoring again. off!' And Elfride started; and Stephen beheld her light figure contracting to the dimensions of a bird as she sank into the distance--her hair flowing. I don't think she ever learnt playing when she was little. Is that enough?''Yes; I will make it do.''You don't know: I have a trouble; though some might think it less a trouble than a dilemma. 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.Had no enigma ever been connected with her lover by his hints and absences. 'it is simply because there are so many other things to be learnt in this wide world that I didn't trouble about that particular bit of knowledge. It came from the further side of the wing containing the illuminated room. Now--what--did--you--love--me--for?''Perhaps. SWANCOURT.

 her face flushed and her eyes sparkling.'Important business demands my immediate presence in London. and then you'll know as much as I do about our visitor.'I didn't comprehend your meaning. and over them bunches of wheat and barley ears. though--for I have known very little of gout as yet.'Very peculiar. I should have thought. Swancourt.'He expressed by a look that to kiss a hand through a glove. I am.''Goodness! As if anything in connection with you could hurt me. Ah. at the person towards whom she was to do the duties of hospitality.Yet in spite of this sombre artistic effect. Is that enough?''Sweet tantalizer. I booked you for that directly I read his letter to me the other day. namely. and set herself to learn the principles of practical mensuration as applied to irregular buildings? Then she must ascend the pulpit to re-imagine for the hundredth time how it would seem to be a preacher. as the driver of the vehicle gratuitously remarked to the hirer.

' said Mr.'The mists were creeping out of pools and swamps for their pilgrimages of the night when Stephen came up to the front door of the vicarage. round which the river took a turn.Mr. staring up.Her face flushed and she looked out. whose fall would have been backwards indirection if he had ever lost his balance. Smith. Swancourt. the simplicity lying merely in the broad outlines of her manner and speech. wasn't it? And oh. sure! That frying of fish will be the end of William Worm. I fancy.''Well. and then nearly upset his tea-cup. cutting up into the sky from the very tip of the hill. But I do like him. you did notice: that was her eyes. when ye were a-putting on the roof.''There is none.

 Mr.''Fancy a man not able to ride!' said she rather pertly. I didn't want this bother of church restoration at all.They reached the bridge which formed a link between the eastern and western halves of the parish. since she had begun to show an inclination not to please him by giving him a boy. but to a smaller pattern.'Such an odd thing. it but little helps a direct refusal. "Get up. and you must. wasn't you? my! until you found it!'Stephen took Elfride's slight foot upon his hand: 'One. It is ridiculous. what a way you was in. never.The vicar's background was at present what a vicar's background should be. the vicar following him to the door with a mysterious expression of inquiry on his face. thinking of the delightful freedom of manner in the remoter counties in comparison with the reserve of London. about the tufts of pampas grasses.'Come. you have not yet spoken to papa about our engagement?''No.

 appeared the tea-service. my love!'Stephen Smith revisited Endelstow Vicarage. Swancourt half listening.The scene down there was altogether different from that of the hills. Round the church ran a low wall; over-topping the wall in general level was the graveyard; not as a graveyard usually is. and I am glad to see that yours are no meaner. Now.'He's come. as a proper young lady. springing from a fantastic series of mouldings.'Ah. and with it the professional dignity of an experienced architect. A final game. Worm was adjusting a buckle in the harness. as she always did in a change of dress. from which gleamed fragments of quartz and blood-red marbles. They then swept round by innumerable lanes. whence she could watch him down the slope leading to the foot of the hill on which the church stood. Hewby's partner?''I should scarcely think so: he may be. that she had been too forward to a comparative stranger.

 child. His mouth was a triumph of its class.'He leapt from his seat like the impulsive lad that he was.' she replied. the shadows sink to darkness.'There is a reason why. and wore a dress the other day something like one of Lady Luxellian's. and Elfride was nowhere in particular. This field extended to the limits of the glebe. the hot air of the valley being occasionally brushed from their faces by a cool breeze. For it did not rain. and bade them adieu. 'The noblest man in England. and Stephen sat beside her.. and smart. Smith. withdrawn. papa. how can I be cold to you?''And shall nothing else affect us--shall nothing beyond my nature be a part of my quality in your eyes.

 first. at the same time gliding round and looking into her face.''Is he only a reviewer?''ONLY. Outside were similar slopes and similar grass; and then the serene impassive sea. and the outline and surface of the mansion gradually disappeared. Because I come as a stranger to a secluded spot. She said quickly:'But you can't live here always. but had reached the neighbourhood the previous evening. from which could be discerned two light-houses on the coast they were nearing. three.Elfride's emotions were sudden as his in kindling. It would be doing me knight service if you keep your eyes fixed upon them. 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. Dull as a flower without the sun he sat down upon a stone.''Tea. they found themselves in a spacious court. to make room for the writing age. and let me drown.' said the other in a tone of mild remonstrance. and by reason of his imperfect hearing had missed the marked realism of Stephen's tone in the English words.

 but that is all. Isn't it absurd?''How clever you must be!' said Stephen. Smith. in fact: those I would be friends with. as it seemed to herself. which he forgot to take with him. that's Lord Luxellian's.''But you don't understand. I have worked out many games from books. I mean that he is really a literary man of some eminence.' said the other in a tone of mild remonstrance. Hedger Luxellian was made a lord. what have you to say to me. He is so brilliant--no. it formed a point of depression from which the road ascended with great steepness to West Endelstow and the Vicarage. "I'll certainly love that young lady. Thus. you sometimes say things which make you seem suddenly to become five years older than you are. Elfie. yes; and I don't complain of poverty.

 Mr. that young Smith's world began to be lit by 'the purple light' in all its definiteness.'Why. don't mention it till to- morrow. by the aid of the dusky departing light. Elfride recovered her position and remembered herself. by my friend Knight. in spite of himself.''Suppose there is something connected with me which makes it almost impossible for you to agree to be my wife.''A romance carried in a purse! If a highwayman were to rob you. and trotting on a few paces in advance.'What the dickens is all that?' said Mr. Swancourt's house.Miss Elfride's image chose the form in which she was beheld during these minutes of singing. out of that family Sprang the Leaseworthy Smiths.''Oh yes.'It was breakfast time. Elfride sat down to the pianoforte.''Not any one that I know of. directly you sat down upon the chair.

 Stephen turned his face away decisively. which a reflection on the remoteness of any such contingency could hardly have sufficed to cause. that word "esquire" is gone to the dogs. pig. that's nothing. however untenable he felt the idea to be. the king came to the throne; and some years after that. just as schoolboys did. his face glowing with his fervour; 'noble.'You shall not be disappointed. and found him with his coat buttoned up and his hat on. I'm a poor man--a poor gentleman.'Such an odd thing.. I worked in shirt-sleeves all the time that was going on. and nothing could now be heard from within.'And he strode away up the valley.' Mr.'What did you love me for?' she said. if it made a mere flat picture of me in that way.

--'I should be coughing and barking all the year round.As seen from the vicarage dining-room. and then with the pleasant perception that her awkwardness was her charm. together with a small estate attached. Her unpractised mind was completely occupied in fathoming its recent acquisition. Go for a drive to Targan Bay.'Oh yes; but 'tis too bad--too bad! Couldn't tell it to you for the world!'Stephen went across the lawn. and looked over the wall into the field. Smith. as I'm alive. and got into the pony-carriage. It seems that he has run up on business for a day or two.''What are you going to do with your romance when you have written it?' said Stephen. leaning over the rustic balustrading which bounded the arbour on the outward side.The point in Elfride Swancourt's life at which a deeper current may be said to have permanently set in. that I had no idea of freak in my mind. not as an expletive.'A story. and talk flavoured with epigram--was such a relief to her that Elfride smiled.'Ah.

' he said with his usual delicacy. For that. towards which the driver pulled the horse at a sharp angle.'And why not lips on lips?' continued Stephen daringly.--Yours very truly. that I won't. being caught by a gust as she ascended the churchyard slope. Smith. Smith. He then turned himself sideways. and Elfride's hat hanging on its corner. nobody was in sight.--all in the space of half an hour.The explanation had not come. namely. But. wild. I'll learn to do it all for your sake; I will. only 'twasn't prented; he was rather a queer-tempered man. Ask her to sing to you--she plays and sings very nicely.

 broke into the squareness of the enclosure; and a far-projecting oriel. "KEEP YOUR VOICE DOWN"--I mean.'Never mind.'Has your trouble anything to do with a kiss on the lawn?' she asked abruptly. looking at him with eyes full of reproach. The next day it rained.The door was locked. But no further explanation was volunteered; and they saw. Their eyes were sparkling; their hair swinging about and around; their red mouths laughing with unalloyed gladness. but the least of woman's lesser infirmities--love of admiration--caused an inflammable disposition on his part. made up of the fragments of an old oak Iychgate. then.' Unity chimed in. Elfride?''Somewhere in the kitchen garden. The old Gothic quarries still remained in the upper portion of the large window at the end. Now the next point in this Mr. Elfride wandered desultorily to the summer house.' he replied.' he said hastily. elderly man of business who had lurked in her imagination--a man with clothes smelling of city smoke.

''I have read them. then. she ventured to look at him again. in spite of everything that may be said against me?''O Stephen. about one letter of some word or words that were almost oaths; 'papa.'A story.''You needn't have explained: it was not my business at all. His features wore an expression of unutterable heaviness. has a splendid hall. ay. They be at it again this morning--same as ever--fizz. entering it through the conservatory. looking at him with a Miranda-like curiosity and interest that she had never yet bestowed on a mortal. Swancourt by daylight showed himself to be a man who. he left the plateau and struck downwards across some fields. 'Oh. and offered his arm with Castilian gallantry. then. You are young: all your life is before you. Smith.

''An excellent man. vexed with him. Worm.''How long has the present incumbent been here?''Maybe about a year. fry. Again she went indoors. Swancourt's voice was heard calling out their names from a distant corridor in the body of the building. as they bowled along up the sycamore avenue. 'You did not play your best in the first two games?'Elfride's guilt showed in her face. and fresh. I would die for you.'What! Must you go at once?' said Mr.''No. but to no purpose. sir. "Yes. and vanished under the trees. superadded to a girl's lightness. which had been used for gathering fruit.Well.

 she withdrew from the room.'Certainly there seemed nothing exaggerated in that assertion. without hat or bonnet. That graceful though apparently accidental falling into position. Her callow heart made an epoch of the incident; she considered her array of feelings. and particularly attractive to youthful palates. suppose that I and this man Knight of yours were both drowning. you have not yet spoken to papa about our engagement?''No. But.'Never mind.'DEAR SIR. the stranger advanced and repeated the call in a more decided manner. as far as she knew. that the person trifled with imagines he is really choosing what is in fact thrust into his hand. she felt herself mistress of the situation. The wind prevailed with but little abatement from its daytime boisterousness. Miss Swancourt. as to increase the apparent bulk of the chimney to the dimensions of a tower.' said Stephen. and the way he spoke of you.

 it reminds me of a splendid story I used to hear when I was a helter-skelter young fellow--such a story! But'--here the vicar shook his head self-forbiddingly. for it is so seldom in this desert that I meet with a man who is gentleman and scholar enough to continue a quotation. as soon as she heard him behind her. jutted out another wing of the mansion. He has never heard me scan a line.'You must. without their insistent fleshiness.' She considered a moment. I shall be good for a ten miles' walk.''And is the visiting man a-come?''Yes.'Nonsense! that will come with time. colouring slightly. Elfride wandered desultorily to the summer house.' said Stephen quietly. But her new friend had promised. deeply?''No!' she said in a fluster.Whilst William Worm performed his toilet (during which performance the inmates of the vicarage were always in the habit of waiting with exemplary patience).'How silent you are.. Miss Swancourt! I am so glad to find you.

 to spend the evening. SHE WRITES MY SERMONS FOR ME OFTEN. and a singular instance of patience!' cried the vicar. with giddy-paced haste. forgive me!' she said sweetly. do you. whilst the fields he scraped have been good for nothing ever since. 'I know now where I dropped it. let me see. forms the accidentally frizzled hair into a nebulous haze of light. and the world was pleasant again to the two fair-haired ones. your home. then?''Not substantial enough. Ha! that reminds me of a story I once heard in my younger days. Swancourt. that had begun to creep through the trees. on second thoughts. push it aside with the taking man instead of lifting it as a preliminary to the move. which for the moment her ardour had outrun.'Let me tiss you.