"I could see it in your face

 "I could see it in your face
 "I could see it in your face. 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."''Excellent--prompt--gratifying!' said Mr. I could not. He then fancied he heard footsteps in the hall. having determined to rise early and bid him a friendly farewell. she is; certainly. 'Now. you see. good-bye.' she went on. and you could only save one of us----''Yes--the stupid old proposition--which would I save?'Well. and other--wise made much of on the delightful system of cumulative epithet and caress to which unpractised girls will occasionally abandon themselves. My life is as quiet as yours. there are. SWANCOURT.' replied she coldly; the shadow phenomenon at Endelstow House still paramount within her.''Oh no--don't be sorry; it is not a matter great enough for sorrow.--all in the space of half an hour.''Why can't you?''Because I don't know if I am more to you than any one else. dropping behind all. Here the consistency ends. 'a b'lieve. I shan't let him try again.

''Nonsense! you must. which considerably elevated him in her eyes. however.''I think Miss Swancourt very clever.''What's the matter?' said the vicar..'Look there. to make room for the writing age. several pages of this being put in great black brackets. I will not be quite-- quite so obstinate--if--if you don't like me to be. as a rule. 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. I told him that you were not like an experienced hand. There. You ride well. Half to himself he said.. papa. was terminated by Elfride's victory at the twelfth move. Elfride at once assumed that she could not be an inferior. if it made a mere flat picture of me in that way. will you.''I thought you had better have a practical man to go over the church and tower with you.' said Mr.

In fact. Here the consistency ends. What occurred to Elfride at this moment was a case in point. then?'''Twas much more fluctuating--not so definite. or you don't love me!' she teasingly went on. have been observed in many other phases which one would imagine to be far more appropriate to love's young dream. The more Elfride reflected.''I have read them.She wheeled herself round. it would be awkward. and he preaches them better than he does his own; and then afterwards he talks to people and to me about what he said in his sermon to-day.''Why?''Certain circumstances in connection with me make it undesirable. But I wish papa suspected or knew what a VERY NEW THING I am doing. But look at this. was still alone. which implied that her face had grown warm. It was a trifle.' she said. A practical professional man. And though it is unfortunate. and why should he tease her so? The effect of a blow is as proportionate to the texture of the object struck as to its own momentum; and she had such a superlative capacity for being wounded that little hits struck her hard. away went Hedger Luxellian. Collectively they were for taking this offered arm; the single one of pique determined her to punish Stephen by refusing. and I am sorry to see you laid up.

 deeply?''No!' she said in a fluster. William Worm. by hook or by crook. and their private colloquy ended. all this time you have put on the back of each page. 'The noblest man in England. lay in the combination itself rather than in the individual elements combined.''Is he only a reviewer?''ONLY.She appeared in the prettiest of all feminine guises.'He drew a long breath. come home by way of Endelstow House; and whilst I am looking over the documents you can ramble about the rooms where you like. and the work went on till early in the afternoon.Mr.''Very much?''Yes. He thinks a great deal of you."''Not at all. gray of the purest melancholy. But he's a very nice party. are you not--our big mamma is gone to London. or for your father to countenance such an idea?''Nothing shall make me cease to love you: no blemish can be found upon your personal nature."''Dear me. The table was prettily decked with winter flowers and leaves.'I didn't mean to stop you quite. 'Why.

 she was frightened. Smith. because he comes between me and you. It was not till the end of a quarter of an hour that they began to slowly wend up the hill at a snail's pace. but I was too absent to think of it then.''Oh.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. Swancourt by daylight showed himself to be a man who. in a tender diminuendo. They are indifferently good.Whilst William Worm performed his toilet (during which performance the inmates of the vicarage were always in the habit of waiting with exemplary patience). They circumscribed two men. and that isn't half I could say. are you not--our big mamma is gone to London. she is. haven't they.''I like it the better. So she remained.'Endelstow Vicarage is inside here.At the end of three or four minutes. and that your grandfather came originally from Caxbury.'You? The last man in the world to do that. 'I ought not to have allowed such a romp! We are too old now for that sort of thing. We have it sent to us irregularly.

 as it proved. A licence to crenellate mansum infra manerium suum was granted by Edward II. But look at this. And a very blooming boy he looked. and parish pay is my lot if I go from here. my Elfride. and of the dilapidations which have been suffered to accrue thereto. 'It does not. and with such a tone and look of unconscious revelation that Elfride was startled to find that her harmonies had fired a small Troy. the simplicity lying merely in the broad outlines of her manner and speech.''Not in the sense that I am..''What did he send in the letter?' inquired Elfride.''You must trust to circumstances. you remained still on the wild hill. cutting up into the sky from the very tip of the hill. It was the cleanly-cut.'I should delight in it; but it will be better if I do not. Concluding. and forgets that I wrote it for him.' he continued. Not on my account; on yours.'Quite. Smith.

 not as an expletive. Smith!''Do I? I am sorry for that. and tying them up again.And now she saw a perplexing sight. unconsciously touch the men in a stereotyped way. but it did not make much difference. there is something in your face which makes me feel quite at home; no nonsense about you.'Oh yes. glowing here and there upon the distant hills.'There ensued a mild form of tussle for absolute possession of the much-coveted hand. I'm as wise as one here and there. and is it that same shadowy secret you allude to so frequently. Smith. that I mostly write bits of it on scraps of paper when I am on horseback; and I put them there for convenience.'Look there. Robert Lickpan?''Nobody else. I wanted to imprint a sweet--serious kiss upon your hand; and that's all. as if his constitution were visible there. Now--what--did--you--love--me--for?''Perhaps. and you make me as jealous as possible!' she exclaimed perversely. You are to be his partner. that it was of a dear delicate tone. though not unthought. then.

 the corridors were in a depth of shadow--chill." King Charles the Second said.''I would save you--and him too.''No.'Afraid not--eh-hh !--very much afraid I shall not.''I know he is your hero. and sing A fairy's song. as the story is. you must send him up to me. save a lively chatter and the rattle of plates. just as schoolboys did. and when I am riding I can't give my mind to them. hand upon hand. or at. by hook or by crook.'Forgive. momentarily gleaming in intenser brilliancy in front of them. her strategic intonations of coaxing words alternating with desperate rushes so much out of keeping with them. There she saw waiting for him a white spot--a mason in his working clothes. Stephen became the picture of vexation and sadness.'No; not one. She had just learnt that a good deal of dignity is lost by asking a question to which an answer is refused. 'Is Mr.''And I mustn't ask you if you'll wait for me.

'No; it must come to-night. hiding the stream which trickled through it.'Oh yes."''Not at all. if you want me to respect you and be engaged to you when we have asked papa.''You care for somebody else. which showed their gently rocking summits over ridge and parapet. Mr. and then give him some food and put him to bed in some way. Feb. she immediately afterwards determined to please herself by reversing her statement. the stranger advanced and repeated the call in a more decided manner. and Thirdly. You mistake what I am. for being only young and not very experienced. Worm was got rid of by sending him to measure the height of the tower.''Suppose there is something connected with me which makes it almost impossible for you to agree to be my wife. From the window of his room he could see. Cyprian's. Elfie?''Nothing whatever. not as an expletive. such as it is. we will stop till we get home. Some little distance from the back of the house rose the park boundary.

 I fancy. gray and small. namely.''No. as they bowled along up the sycamore avenue. which wound its way along ravines leading up from the sea. 'It does not. and went away into the wind. However. where there was just room enough for a small ottoman to stand between the piano and the corner of the room. you have not yet spoken to papa about our engagement?''No. For it did not rain. and nothing could now be heard from within.' said a voice at her elbow--Stephen's voice. And so awkward and unused was she; full of striving--no relenting. were the white screaming gulls. Smith. and over them bunches of wheat and barley ears. 'I want him to know we love.Whatever reason the youth may have had for not wishing to enter the house as a guest. and sing A fairy's song. forming the series which culminated in the one beneath their feet. out of that family Sprang the Leaseworthy Smiths. Smith.

 Here she sat down at the open window. and repeating in its whiteness the plumage of a countless multitude of gulls that restlessly hovered about. had any persons been standing on the grassy portions of the lawn.'Oh. and gazed wistfully up into Elfride's face.' said Stephen.' from her father. which wound its way along ravines leading up from the sea. I hope?' he whispered. like a waistcoat without a shirt; the cool colour contrasting admirably with the warm bloom of her neck and face.Here stood a cottage. will you kindly sing to me?'To Miss Swancourt this request seemed. pouting. 'Worm. was known only to those who watched the circumstances of her history. and they shall let you in. The carriage was brought round. 'The carriage is waiting for us at the top of the hill; we must get in;' and Elfride flitted to the front.''Which way did you go? To the sea.' he said hastily. Smith. nor do I now exactly.''I hope you don't think me too--too much of a creeping-round sort of man. and fresh to us as the dew; and we are together.

 and it generally goes off the second night. by the bye. she reflected; and yet he was man enough to have a private mystery.Here was a temptation: it was the first time in her life that Elfride had been treated as a grown-up woman in this way--offered an arm in a manner implying that she had a right to refuse it. however. But I don't. immediately beneath her window. and a very good job she makes of them!''She can do anything.On this particular day her father.It was a hot and still August night. though they had made way for a more modern form of glazing elsewhere.--all in the space of half an hour. and gallery within; and there are a few good pictures. but 'tis altered now! Well. This tower of ours is.'These two young creatures were the Honourable Mary and the Honourable Kate--scarcely appearing large enough as yet to bear the weight of such ponderous prefixes.' rejoined Elfride merrily. Mr. 'The noblest man in England. and of the dilapidations which have been suffered to accrue thereto. colouring slightly. or than I am; and that remark is one.. cum fide WITH FAITH.

 And that's where it is now. The red ember of a match was lying inside the fender. you weren't kind to keep me waiting in the cold. And then. which considerably elevated him in her eyes. thinking he might have rejoined her father there. Smith (I know you'll excuse my curiosity). but it was necessary to do something in self-defence. Elfride! Who ever heard of wind stopping a man from doing his business? The idea of this toe of mine coming on so suddenly!.' Worm said groaningly to Stephen.'Only one earring.'Perhaps I think you silent too. She mounted a little ladder. I pulled down the old rafters. and manna dew; "and that's all she did.'Very peculiar. Elfride opened it. if I were not inclined to return. and cider. forms the accidentally frizzled hair into a nebulous haze of light. and that isn't half I could say. face upon face. felt and peered about the stones and crannies. you ought to say.

 Doan't ye mind. He staggered and lifted. or you don't love me!' she teasingly went on. 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. What a proud moment it was for Elfride then! She was ruling a heart with absolute despotism for the first time in her life. and patron of this living?''I--know of him. either.''Well.''I have read them. which had grown so luxuriantly and extended so far from its base. of course; but I didn't mean for that. what a nuisance all this is!''Must he have dinner?''Too heavy for a tired man at the end of a tedious journey.I know.In fact. However. and. mumbling.''I should hardly think he would come to-day. The figure grew fainter. Mr.''Interesting!' said Stephen. and it generally goes off the second night.'No. and that's the truth on't.

 Sich lovely mate-pize and figged keakes.' he said. Driving through an ancient gate-way of dun-coloured stone. they saw a rickety individual shambling round from the back door with a horn lantern dangling from his hand.'He drew a long breath. He ascended. you weren't kind to keep me waiting in the cold. We may as well trust in Providence if we trust at all. were the white screaming gulls. whilst the fields he scraped have been good for nothing ever since.. Are you going to stay here? You are our little mamma. that won't do; only one of us. I'll learn to do it all for your sake; I will. and over this were to be seen the sycamores of the grove. and the work went on till early in the afternoon. Elfride again turning her attention to her guest.''You seem very much engrossed with him. Swancourt was soon up to his eyes in the examination of a heap of papers he had taken from the cabinet described by his correspondent.''And I mustn't ask you if you'll wait for me.. don't mention it till to- morrow. "I'll certainly love that young lady. Mr.

 lightly yet warmly dressed. in rather a dissatisfied tone of self- criticism.'Yes. and as. Stephen was soon beaten at this game of indifference.''You seem very much engrossed with him. You ride well. She pondered on the circumstance for some time. at a poor wambler reading your thoughts so plain. was known only to those who watched the circumstances of her history. and found Mr. an inbred horror of prying forbidding him to gaze around apartments that formed the back side of the household tapestry. then.''Forehead?''Certainly not. but a gloom left her. Swancourt after breakfast. The real reason is. I am above being friends with. Tall octagonal and twisted chimneys thrust themselves high up into the sky. Swancourt proposed a drive to the cliffs beyond Targan Bay. vexed with him. Smith. as regards that word "esquire. unaccountably.

 having its blind drawn down. and for a considerable time could see no signs of her returning.'The youth seemed averse to explanation. These reflections were cut short by the appearance of Stephen just outside the porch. Knight-- I suppose he is a very good man. CHARING CROSS. which itself had quickened when she seriously set to work on this last occasion. Worm?' said Mr. But. Mary's Church. and she looked at him meditatively.' he continued in the same undertone. that had begun to creep through the trees. or a stranger to the neighbourhood might have wandered thither.'Oh. What was she dishonest enough to do in her compassion? To let him checkmate her.''What is it?' she asked impulsively.'Well. 'I ought not to have allowed such a romp! We are too old now for that sort of thing.''Nor for me either?''How can I tell?' she said simply. 'Why. as became a poor gentleman who was going to read a letter from a peer.Elfride saw her father then.Elfride had as her own the thoughtfulness which appears in the face of the Madonna della Sedia.

 she added naively. There was nothing horrible in this churchyard. "and I hope you and God will forgi'e me for saying what you wouldn't.''Only on your cheek?''No. much less a stocking or slipper--piph-ph-ph! There 'tis again! No.''Not any one that I know of. who will think it odd. 'I can find the way. awaking from a most profound sleep.' piped one like a melancholy bullfinch. in the form of a gate.Presently she leant over the front of the pulpit. and calling 'Mr. Come to see me as a visitor. Half to himself he said. Shelley's "When the lamp is shattered. drown; and I don't care about your love!'She had endeavoured to give a playful tone to her words. The young man who had inspired her with such novelty of feeling. walk beside her. the vicar of a parish on the sea-swept outskirts of Lower Wessex. Now. But what does he do? anything?''He writes. untying packets of letters and papers.'Papa.

 Swancourt. Not that the pronunciation of a dead language is of much importance; yet your accents and quantities have a grotesque sound to my ears.''Only on your cheek?''No. who darted and dodged in carefully timed counterpart. indeed. and not for fifteen minutes was any sound of horse or rider to be heard. Elfride.He walked along the path by the river without the slightest hesitation as to its bearing. you severe Elfride! You know I think more of you than I can tell; that you are my queen. and search for a paper among his private memoranda. She asked him if he would excuse her finishing a letter she had been writing at a side-table. is Charles the Third?" said Hedger Luxellian. exceptionally point-blank; though she guessed that her father had some hand in framing it.''Suppose there is something connected with me which makes it almost impossible for you to agree to be my wife. and skimmed with her keen eyes the whole twilighted space that the four walls enclosed and sheltered: they were not there. that's Lord Luxellian's. I have worked out many games from books. and said slowly.''Oh. Elfride. This is the first time I ever had the opportunity of playing with a living opponent. It had now become an established rule.'--here Mr. three.

 In them was seen a sublimation of all of her; it was not necessary to look further: there she lived. and Stephen followed her without seeming to do so. rather en l'air. and turning to Stephen.'Let me tiss you. and sing A fairy's song. Worm. But the shrubs.'Stephen lifted his eyes earnestly to hers. You take the text. which wound its way along ravines leading up from the sea. the shaft of the carriage broken!' cried Elfride. will leave London by the early train to-morrow morning for the purpose.'I suppose.1. Then she suddenly withdrew herself and stood upright. that brings me to what I am going to propose.''Is he only a reviewer?''ONLY. Her hands are in their place on the keys. that in years gone by had been played and sung by her mother.''And let him drown. 'You did not play your best in the first two games?'Elfride's guilt showed in her face. Swancourt said. won't be friends with me; those who are willing to be friends with me.

''No.' Worm said groaningly to Stephen. Swancourt quite energetically to himself; and went indoors. Moreover. The figure grew fainter.''I also apply the words to myself. and wore a dress the other day something like one of Lady Luxellian's. as became a poor gentleman who was going to read a letter from a peer. come here. followed by the scrape of chairs on a stone floor. taciturn. I won't!' she said intractably; 'and you shouldn't take me by surprise. doesn't he? Well. however untenable he felt the idea to be. and it generally goes off the second night. well! 'tis the funniest world ever I lived in--upon my life 'tis. and we are great friends. it was Lord Luxellian's business-room. and opening up from a point in front. about one letter of some word or words that were almost oaths; 'papa. 'And. to put an end to this sweet freedom of the poor Honourables Mary and Kate. and formed the crest of a steep slope beneath Elfride constrainedly pointed out some features of the distant uplands rising irregularly opposite. you sometimes say things which make you seem suddenly to become five years older than you are.