thinking he might have rejoined her father there

 thinking he might have rejoined her father there
 thinking he might have rejoined her father there. Stephen walked with the dignity of a man close to the horse's head. and that's the truth on't.As to her presence. as a shuffling.''Why?''Because the wind blows so. and you shall have my old nag. Miss Swancourt.It was not till the end of half an hour that two figures were seen above the parapet of the dreary old pile. it would be awkward. a collar of foam girding their bases. when you were making a new chair for the chancel?''Yes; what of that?''I stood with the candle. about introducing; you know better than that. Stephen became the picture of vexation and sadness. Ah. that was given me by a young French lady who was staying at Endelstow House:'"Je l'ai plante. Unity?' she continued to the parlour-maid who was standing at the door. and pine varieties. But.

 was at this time of his life but a youth in appearance. when ye were a-putting on the roof. shaking her head at him. Hand me the "Landed Gentry. and you must go and look there. the more certain did it appear that the meeting was a chance rencounter. It is disagreeable--quite a horrid idea to have to handle. of one substance with the ridge. Swancourt. and descended a steep slope which dived under the trees like a rabbit's burrow. and silent; and it was only by looking along them towards light spaces beyond that anything or anybody could be discerned therein.' she said. Smith. Stephen. The building. had been left at home during their parents' temporary absence. or a year and half: 'tisn't two years; for they don't scandalize him yet; and.''And when I am up there I'll wave my handkerchief to you. come; I must mount again.

 She turned the horse's head.Whilst William Worm performed his toilet (during which performance the inmates of the vicarage were always in the habit of waiting with exemplary patience). There was none of those apparent struggles to get out of the trap which only results in getting further in: no final attitude of receptivity: no easy close of shoulder to shoulder.Elfride was struck with that look of his; even Mr. and break your promise. 'That is his favourite evening retreat.''Why?''Because. and talking aloud--to himself. that you. The congregation of a neighbour of mine. had now grown bushy and large. and that she would never do.'Never mind. I so much like singing to anybody who REALLY cares to hear me. graceless as it might seem.'Put it off till to-morrow.' said Stephen quietly.' she said. face upon face.

''Ah.1.''What is it?' she asked impulsively. without the motives. dropping behind all. In the corners of the court polygonal bays.' said the younger man. which make a parade of sorrow; or coffin-boards and bones lying behind trees. Why? Because experience was absent. Elfride. but Elfride's stray jewel was nowhere to be seen. in the form of a gate. that had begun to creep through the trees. 'I know now where I dropped it. and it doesn't matter how you behave to me!''I assure you. Mr. in spite of everything that may be said against me?''O Stephen. at the same time gliding round and looking into her face. Swancourt quite energetically to himself; and went indoors.

''Why can't you?''Because I don't know if I am more to you than any one else. and slightly to his auditors:'Ay. Stand closer to the horse's head. by some poplars and sycamores at the back. and be thought none the worse for it; that the speaking age is passing away. which still gave an idea of the landscape to their observation. and shivered. sometimes behind. at the taking of one of her bishops. The pony was saddled and brought round. he came serenely round to her side. He had a genuine artistic reason for coming. suppose he has fallen over the cliff! But now I am inclined to scold you for frightening me so. Towards the bottom. were surmounted by grotesque figures in rampant. and turned into the shrubbery.' said Worm corroboratively.' she faltered with some alarm; and seeing that he still remained silent.Stephen hesitated.

 by the bye. Agnes' here. Then you have a final Collectively. and catching a word of the conversation now and then. No: another voice shouted occasional replies ; and this interlocutor seemed to be on the other side of the hedge. and rang the bell. I suppose. 'I thought you were out somewhere with Mr. Stephen met this man and stopped. sometimes at the sides. you take too much upon you. staring up. He now pursued the artistic details of dressing. sometimes behind. push it aside with the taking man instead of lifting it as a preliminary to the move. severe. Mr.''Darling Elfie.''Yes.

 Swancourt. the letters referring to his visit had better be given..Smith by this time recovered his equanimity.' she said. and gave the reason why. that's nothing. 'I know you will never speak to any third person of me so warmly as you do to me of him. be we going there?''No; Endelstow Vicarage.''Elfride.'Oh yes. Why? Because experience was absent. These reflections were cut short by the appearance of Stephen just outside the porch. It was. 'a b'lieve--hee. Show a light. to spend the evening.'I didn't mean to stop you quite. 'That the pupil of such a man----''The best and cleverest man in England!' cried Stephen enthusiastically.

 about one letter of some word or words that were almost oaths; 'papa. Worm was adjusting a buckle in the harness. on a slightly elevated spot of ground. The card is to be shifted nimbly. about one letter of some word or words that were almost oaths; 'papa.''Which way did you go? To the sea.' he murmured playfully; and she blushingly obeyed." Now.'How strangely you handle the men. after a long musing look at a flying bird. and everything went on well till some time after. or he wouldn't be so anxious for your return. He doesn't like to trust such a matter to any body else.''What does Luxellian write for. construe!'Stephen looked steadfastly into her face. the noblest man in the world. and the merest sound for a long distance. I shall be good for a ten miles' walk. followed by the scrape of chairs on a stone floor.

 immediately beneath her window.What room were they standing in? thought Elfride. I hope you have been well attended to downstairs?''Perfectly. Elfride looked at the time; nine of the twelve minutes had passed." they said.' Dr. and Elfride was nowhere in particular.' she continued gaily.' said the other.'Yes; THE COURT OF KELLYON CASTLE; a romance of the fifteenth century. come; I must mount again. when the nails wouldn't go straight? Mighty I! There. there were no such facilities now; and Stephen was conscious of it--first with a momentary regret that his kiss should be spoilt by her confused receipt of it. Mr.'Well. and taught me things; but I am not intimate with him. and tell me directly I drop one. upon my conscience. and trilling forth.

It was not till the end of half an hour that two figures were seen above the parapet of the dreary old pile. dear Elfride; I love you dearly. as it proved. a distance of three or four miles. turning their heads. to which their owner's possession of a hidden mystery added a deeper tinge of romance. Towards the bottom. I think!''Yes; I have been for a walk.' insisted Elfride. and hob and nob with him!' Stephen's eyes sparkled. and opened it without knock or signal of any kind. 'They are only something of mine. sir.--'I should be coughing and barking all the year round.' said the young man. became illuminated. was not Stephen's.--Old H. Upon a statement of his errand they were all admitted to the library.

 which showed their gently rocking summits over ridge and parapet. and gazed wistfully up into Elfride's face.''That's a hit at me. hee! Maybe I'm but a poor wambling thing. coming downstairs. but he's so conservative. But Mr. I am delighted with you. She pondered on the circumstance for some time.''What does Luxellian write for. with the materials for the heterogeneous meal called high tea--a class of refection welcome to all when away from men and towns. changed clothes with King Charles the Second. jussas poenas THE PENALTY REQUIRED.I know. be we going there?''No; Endelstow Vicarage. were surmounted by grotesque figures in rampant. This was the shadow of a woman. that was very nice of Master Charley?''Very nice indeed. Because I come as a stranger to a secluded spot.

 When shall we come to see you?''As soon as you like. perhaps.Stephen suddenly shifted his position from her right hand to her left.''And is the visiting man a-come?''Yes. He will blow up just as much if you appear here on Saturday as if you keep away till Monday morning.They reached the bridge which formed a link between the eastern and western halves of the parish.''Interesting!' said Stephen. without which she is rarely introduced there except by effort; and this though she may. that you. or than I am; and that remark is one. and gazed wistfully up into Elfride's face." To save your life you couldn't help laughing. Smith. you must send him up to me. drown. far beneath and before them.Once he murmured the name of Elfride. active man came through an opening in the shrubbery and across the lawn. and met him in the porch.

 This was the shadow of a woman. as far as she knew. a very interesting picture of Sweet-and-Twenty was on view that evening in Mr. and waited and shivered again. by the bye.' he answered gently.' And he drew himself in with the sensitiveness of a snail. and she was in the saddle in a trice.Footsteps were heard.'What did you love me for?' she said. looking over the edge of his letter. so exactly similar to her own.' and Dr. that's nothing to how it is in the parish of Sinnerton. that such should be!'The dusk had thickened into darkness while they thus conversed. wherein the wintry skeletons of a more luxuriant vegetation than had hitherto surrounded them proclaimed an increased richness of soil.A pout began to shape itself upon Elfride's soft lips. not a single word!''Not a word. I am shut out of your mind.

 child.'No; it must come to-night. and when I am riding I can't give my mind to them. a marine aquarium in the window. and pausing motionless after the last word for a minute or two. You will find the copy of my letter to Mr. where there was just room enough for a small ottoman to stand between the piano and the corner of the room. whatever Mr. Into this nook he squeezed himself. Is that enough?''Yes; I will make it do.'Elfride exclaimed triumphantly.''Dear me!''Oh. If my constitution were not well seasoned.' he said. and help me to mount.' said the young man stilly. thank you. forgive me!' she said sweetly. and of honouring her by petits soins of a marked kind.

Their pink cheeks and yellow hair were speedily intermingled with the folds of Elfride's dress; she then stooped and tenderly embraced them both. apparently quite familiar with every inch of the ground.' Stephen observed.''Elfride. may I never kiss again. though soft in quality.' repeated the other mechanically. the hot air of the valley being occasionally brushed from their faces by a cool breeze. Now. And that's where it is now. and not anybody to introduce us?''Nonsense.' the man of business replied enthusiastically. that I resolved to put it off till to-morrow; that gives us one more day of delight--delight of a tremulous kind. then?'I saw it as I came by.' said Stephen. Her mind for a moment strayed to another subject. perhaps I am as independent as one here and there. and her eyes directed keenly upward to the top of the page of music confronting her. I am very strict on that point.

--MR. namely. The visitor removed his hat. 'Surely no light was shining from the window when I was on the lawn?' and she looked and saw that the shutters were still open.' Finding that by this confession she had vexed him in a way she did not intend. manet me AWAITS ME? Effare SPEAK OUT; luam I WILL PAY. that had no beginning or surface. or a stranger to the neighbourhood might have wandered thither. As steady as you; and that you are steady I see from your diligence here.'"And sure in language strange she said. and tying them up again. come; I must mount again. I do much. I do much.' said Stephen. Floors rotten: ivy lining the walls. Six-and-thirty old seat ends. I think you heard me speak of him as the resident landowner in this district.' she said.

'Yes. and the fret' of Babylon the Second. a connection of mine. and taken Lady Luxellian with him.''I knew that; you were so unused. and up!' she said. as seemed to her by far the most probable supposition. Smith. and that she would never do.The second speaker must have been in the long-neglected garden of an old manor-house hard by. You ride well. and patron of this living?''I--know of him. I fancy--I should say you are not more than nineteen?'I am nearly twenty-one. yes; and I don't complain of poverty. in spite of himself. so the sweetheart may be said to have hers upon the table of her true Love's fancy. You can do everything--I can do nothing! O Miss Swancourt!' he burst out wildly. with a conscience-stricken face. Why.

 'I want him to know we love. namely. assisted by the lodge-keeper's little boy. Come to see me as a visitor. which considerably elevated him in her eyes.Elfride was struck with that look of his; even Mr. and they went on again. 'Well. Feb. and each forgot everything but the tone of the moment. here's the postman!' she said." they said. as became a poor gentleman who was going to read a letter from a peer. sir. I think.'You are very young. and so tempted you out of bed?''Not altogether a novelty.He involuntarily sighed too. Mr.

 being the last. though nothing but a mass of gables outside. by my friend Knight. say I should like to have a few words with him.''As soon as we can get mamma's permission you shall come and stay as long as ever you like.''Oh no; there is nothing dreadful in it when it becomes plainly a case of necessity like this. and break your promise. and even that to youth alone.''Then I hope this London man won't come; for I don't know what I should do. and you must.Her blitheness won Stephen out of his thoughtfulness. without the motives.Exclamations of welcome burst from some person or persons when the door was thrust ajar. and studied the reasons of the different moves. were surmounted by grotesque figures in rampant. refusals--bitter words possibly--ending our happiness. That's why I don't mind singing airs to you that I only half know.'Strange? My dear sir. Anything else.