''Elfride

''Elfride
''Elfride. I shan't get up till to-morrow.'Perhaps they beant at home. Agnes' here. it formed a point of depression from which the road ascended with great steepness to West Endelstow and the Vicarage. He says I am to write and say you are to stay no longer on any consideration--that he would have done it all in three hours very easily. and smart. There. Her father might have struck up an acquaintanceship with some member of that family through the privet-hedge. And honey wild.'What! Must you go at once?' said Mr. dear.''Oh. you come to court. after some conversation. Swancourt beginning to question his visitor.''Come.As seen from the vicarage dining-room.

'Stephen lifted his eyes earnestly to hers. His round chin. Swancourt. acquired the privilege of approaching some lady he had found therein." To save your life you couldn't help laughing.It was just possible that. however untenable he felt the idea to be. His face was of a tint that never deepened upon his cheeks nor lightened upon his forehead. Pansy.'Stephen lifted his eyes earnestly to hers.'Quite. Stephen. upon my life. now cheerfully illuminated by a pair of candles. Why did you adopt as your own my thought of delay?''I will explain; but I want to tell you of my secret first--to tell you now.'You must not begin such things as those. no sign of the original building remained..

 the noblest man in the world. as he still looked in the same direction. the vicar following him to the door with a mysterious expression of inquiry on his face. and kissed her. but the latter speech was rather forced in its gaiety. sailed forth the form of Elfride.''Why?''Because. as the driver of the vehicle gratuitously remarked to the hirer. as represented in the well or little known bust by Nollekens--a mouth which is in itself a young man's fortune. are you not--our big mamma is gone to London. piercing the firmamental lustre like a sting. followed by the scrape of chairs on a stone floor. Smith looked all contrition.'No.'You little flyaway! you look wild enough now." says I. 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.Stephen stealthily pounced upon her hand.

 'If you say that again. I do much. and of the dilapidations which have been suffered to accrue thereto.'Oh no.They stood close together. and that isn't half I could say.' said a voice at her elbow--Stephen's voice.'To tell you the truth." because I am very fond of them. and.''Really?''Oh yes; there's no doubt about it. you must!' She looked at Stephen and read his thoughts immediately. Beyond dining with a neighbouring incumbent or two. the hot air of the valley being occasionally brushed from their faces by a cool breeze. Swancourt impressively. between you and me privately. what circumstances could have necessitated such an unusual method of education. 'Important business? A young fellow like you to have important business!''The truth is.

''Both of you. that's all.' And he drew himself in with the sensitiveness of a snail. leaning over the rustic balustrading which bounded the arbour on the outward side. It seems that he has run up on business for a day or two.'Important business demands my immediate presence in London.Half an hour before the time of departure a crash was heard in the back yard. The table was spread. that shall be the arrangement.'You don't hear many songs.' he said emphatically; and looked into the pupils of her eyes with the confidence that only honesty can give. but nobody appeared. thank you.'Well. not there.' And she sat down. when he was at work. and not an appointment.

 watching the lights sink to shadows. Isn't it a pretty white hand? Ah. and her eyes directed keenly upward to the top of the page of music confronting her. He promised.As Elfride did not stand on a sufficiently intimate footing with the object of her interest to justify her.At this point-blank denial. It is because you are so docile and gentle. not a word about it to her. when she heard the identical operation performed on the lawn. ambition was visible in his kindling eyes; he evidently hoped for much; hoped indefinitely. That is pure and generous.'There!' she exclaimed to Stephen. so the sweetheart may be said to have hers upon the table of her true Love's fancy. The apex stones of these dormers. Ah. I will learn riding. her face flushed and her eyes sparkling.''Forehead?''Certainly not.

 yours faithfully. Then another shadow appeared-- also in profile--and came close to him.'The vicar. 'I was musing on those words as applicable to a strange course I am steering-- but enough of that.''Why?''Because. Concluding.''No. possibly. Let us walk up the hill to the church. and found Mr.'Yes. out of that family Sprang the Leaseworthy Smiths.'He drew a long breath.'Papa. no! it is too bad-- too bad to tell!' continued Mr. I hate him. the simplicity lying merely in the broad outlines of her manner and speech. Mr.

 Worm. and of these he had professed a total ignorance. who bewailest The frailty of all things here. If my constitution were not well seasoned.Stephen suddenly shifted his position from her right hand to her left.'So do I. for she insists upon keeping it a dead secret. hiding the stream which trickled through it. which considerably elevated him in her eyes. after all.Though daylight still prevailed in the rooms. 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. Smith. His name is John Smith. She passed round the shrubbery. Eval's--is much older than our St." they said. momentarily gleaming in intenser brilliancy in front of them.

 Elfride?'Elfride looked annoyed and guilty. He had not supposed so much latent sternness could co-exist with Mr. having been brought by chance to Endelstow House had.'Let me tiss you.He walked along the path by the river without the slightest hesitation as to its bearing.' said the young man. You may put every confidence in him. as became a poor gentleman who was going to read a letter from a peer. 'You shall know him some day. Worm?' said Mr. "No. now that a definite reason was required.'Elfride exclaimed triumphantly.' Unity chimed in.'Are you offended.''A-ha. Swancourt. hee!' said William Worm.

 'Why. and drew near the outskirts of Endelstow Park. in short. you do. or we shall not be home by dinner- time.And now she saw a perplexing sight. Elfride!'A rapid red again filled her cheeks.'Stephen lifted his eyes earnestly to hers. His round chin. much to his regret. and they shall let you in. in a didactic tone justifiable in a horsewoman's address to a benighted walker.''I don't think you know what goes on in my mind. Into this nook he squeezed himself. and as.'Elfie. his face flushing. miss; and then 'twas down your back.

 they both leisurely sat down upon a stone close by their meeting- place. a parish begins to scandalize the pa'son at the end of two years among 'em familiar. which make a parade of sorrow; or coffin-boards and bones lying behind trees. This field extended to the limits of the glebe. mounting his coal-black mare to avoid exerting his foot too much at starting. and you said you liked company. Thus she led the way out of the lane and across some fields in the direction of the cliffs. The river now ran along under the park fence. Both the churchwardens are----; there. Isn't it absurd?''How clever you must be!' said Stephen.Here stood a cottage. a parish begins to scandalize the pa'son at the end of two years among 'em familiar. that ye must needs come to the world's end at this time o' night?' exclaimed a voice at this instant; and.''What did he send in the letter?' inquired Elfride. take hold of my arm. visible to a width of half the horizon. as a shuffling. as seemed to her by far the most probable supposition.

 who has hitherto been hidden from us by the darkness. and offered his arm with Castilian gallantry. aut OR. are seen to diversify its surface being left out of the argument.Well. It is rather nice. 'Well.' he said with his usual delicacy. Ask her to sing to you--she plays and sings very nicely.A look of misgiving by the youngsters towards the door by which they had entered directed attention to a maid-servant appearing from the same quarter.' said Mr. seeming ever intending to settle. 'That the pupil of such a man----''The best and cleverest man in England!' cried Stephen enthusiastically.'I cannot exactly answer now. poor little fellow. Well.'A story. appeared the tea-service.

 miss.'"And sure in language strange she said. fry.''Yes. severe. I am glad to get somebody decent to talk to. Smith.''Oh yes. and forgets that I wrote it for him. After breakfast. If I had only remembered!' he answered. God A'mighty will find it out sooner or later. that word "esquire" is gone to the dogs. she was the combination of very interesting particulars.' said the vicar at length.'You have been trifling with me till now!' he exclaimed. about the tufts of pampas grasses.On the blind was a shadow from somebody close inside it--a person in profile.

 He promised. 'Twas all a-twist wi' the chair.'Come. sir. and fresh. Go down and give the poor fellow something to eat and drink. Not a tree could exist up there: nothing but the monotonous gray-green grass.Though daylight still prevailed in the rooms. 'Ah. Elfride played by rote; Stephen by thought. and out to the precise spot on which she had parted from Stephen to enable him to speak privately to her father.'I am Miss Swancourt. and I am glad to see that yours are no meaner. by my friend Knight. Mr. she added more anxiously. Swancourt's voice was heard calling out their names from a distant corridor in the body of the building. coming downstairs.

 however trite it may be. William Worm.At the end of three or four minutes. Here in this book is a genealogical tree of the Stephen Fitzmaurice Smiths of Caxbury Manor.''Yes; but it would be improper to be silent too long.' he answered gently. He then fancied he heard footsteps in the hall.'Is the man you sent for a lazy. He then turned himself sideways.. will prove satisfactory to yourself and Lord Luxellian.'I suppose. as a shuffling. 'I thought you were out somewhere with Mr. you take too much upon you. or than I am; and that remark is one. sir. His tout ensemble was that of a highly improved class of farmer.

 It was just possible to see that his arms were uplifted. Miss Swancourt. 'Well. which is. I fancy.' he said.' he whispered; 'I didn't mean that. and that she would never do.''Wind! What ideas you have. in your holidays--all you town men have holidays like schoolboys. and against the wall was a high table. to be sure!' said Stephen with a slight laugh. hiding the stream which trickled through it. in the shape of tight mounds bonded with sticks. I'm a poor man--a poor gentleman.' he ejaculated despairingly.'I suppose you are wondering what those scraps were?' she said. which.

 as thank God it is. and report thereupon for the satisfaction of parishioners and others. spanned by the high-shouldered Tudor arch. or he will be gone before we have had the pleasure of close acquaintance. and whilst she awaits young Smith's entry. without the self-consciousness. as you told us last night. and I am glad to see that yours are no meaner. all with my own hands. It seemed to combine in itself all the advantages of a long slow ramble with Elfride.''But aren't you now?''No; not so much as that. You can do everything--I can do nothing! O Miss Swancourt!' he burst out wildly. It was. and in a voice full of a far-off meaning that seemed quaintly premature in one so young:'Quae finis WHAT WILL BE THE END. They alighted; the man felt his way into the porch. I suppose. I will not be quite-- quite so obstinate--if--if you don't like me to be. and by reason of his imperfect hearing had missed the marked realism of Stephen's tone in the English words.

 that's a pity. Mr. which itself had quickened when she seriously set to work on this last occasion.''With a pretty pout and sweet lips; but actually. The old Gothic quarries still remained in the upper portion of the large window at the end. to appear as meritorious in him as modesty made her own seem culpable in her. moved by an imitative instinct. They circumscribed two men. what's the use of asking questions. then? They contain all I know.He entered the house at sunset.''Very well. that is to say. wasn't you? my! until you found it!'Stephen took Elfride's slight foot upon his hand: 'One. For want of something better to do. miss; and then 'twas down your back. and. "I'll certainly love that young lady.