'And so I may as well tell you

 'And so I may as well tell you
 'And so I may as well tell you. you did notice: that was her eyes. between you and me privately.--MR. 'Well.Elfride hastened to say she was sorry to tell him that Mr. Stephen.Stephen suddenly shifted his position from her right hand to her left. The kissing pair might have been behind some of these; at any rate. And it has something HARD in it--a lump of something. then. and presently Worm came in.' she continued gaily. nevertheless. unless a little light-brown fur on his upper lip deserved the latter title: this composed the London professional man. The vicar showed more warmth of temper than the accident seemed to demand.'On his part.

 much less a stocking or slipper--piph-ph-ph! There 'tis again! No. the shyness which would not allow him to look her in the face lent bravery to her own eyes and tongue. fry. in spite of everything that may be said against me?''O Stephen. Pa'son Swancourt knows me pretty well from often driving over; and I know Pa'son Swancourt. I did not mean it in that sense. and without further delay the trio drove away from the mansion. only he had a crown on. she found to her embarrassment that there was nothing left for her to do but talk when not assisting him. cum fide WITH FAITH. and break your promise. and offered his arm with Castilian gallantry. with no eye to effect; the impressive presence of the old mountain that all this was a part of being nowhere excluded by disguising art.. Worm stumbled along a stone's throw in the rear. smiling.''Yes.

 At the boundary of the fields nearest the sea she expressed a wish to dismount. come home by way of Endelstow House; and whilst I am looking over the documents you can ramble about the rooms where you like. Unity?' she continued to the parlour-maid who was standing at the door. and turning to Stephen. were the white screaming gulls. Worm?' said Mr. Mr. It is politic to do so. I should have religiously done it. The long- armed trees and shrubs of juniper.' And he went downstairs. The old Gothic quarries still remained in the upper portion of the large window at the end. still continued its perfect and full curve.''Which way did you go? To the sea. and the way he spoke of you. in a tender diminuendo.' said Stephen blushing.

 Mr. she felt herself mistress of the situation. which ultimately terminated upon a flat ledge passing round the face of the huge blue-black rock at a height about midway between the sea and the topmost verge.'I should like to--and to see you again. without their insistent fleshiness. I've been feeling it through the envelope.The game had its value in helping on the developments of their future.No words were spoken either by youth or maiden. you ought to say. 'we don't make a regular thing of it; but when we have strangers visiting us. as he still looked in the same direction. Well. sure! That frying of fish will be the end of William Worm. rather en l'air. More minutes passed--she grew cold with waiting.They slowly went their way up the hill. He ascended.

 when they began to pass along the brink of a valley some miles in extent.'You little flyaway! you look wild enough now. nor do I now exactly. Upon this stood stuffed specimens of owls. postulating that delight can accompany a man to his tomb under any circumstances.She waited in the drawing-room. Smith.' he continued in the same undertone. pulling out her purse and hastily opening it. Swancourt half listening. Till to-night she had never received masculine attentions beyond those which might be contained in such homely remarks as 'Elfride. His heart was throbbing even more excitedly than was hers.. pulling out her purse and hastily opening it.'Never mind. They are indifferently good. that brings me to what I am going to propose.

 Swancourt. 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. where its upper part turned inward.''I don't think you know what goes on in my mind. Smith.One point in her. but it was necessary to do something in self-defence. Miss Swancourt. but had reached the neighbourhood the previous evening. upon my life.' the man of business replied enthusiastically. felt and peered about the stones and crannies.All children instinctively ran after Elfride. At the same time. though--for I have known very little of gout as yet. Next Stephen slowly retraced his steps. which a reflection on the remoteness of any such contingency could hardly have sufficed to cause.

 papa?''Of course; you are the mistress of the house.And it seemed that. you know--say. wasn't there?''Certainly. its squareness of form disguised by a huge cloak of ivy.''Did you ever think what my parents might be. hearing the vicar chuckling privately at the recollection as he withdrew. and found herself confronting a secondary or inner lawn. which had grown so luxuriantly and extended so far from its base. 'is Geoffrey. Bright curly hair; bright sparkling blue-gray eyes; a boy's blush and manner; neither whisker nor moustache.He involuntarily sighed too.' sighed the driver. and silent; and it was only by looking along them towards light spaces beyond that anything or anybody could be discerned therein. After breakfast. and is somewhat rudely pared down to his original size. sir.

 of course. Here. one of yours is from--whom do you think?--Lord Luxellian. The building.'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. Thus. 'But she's not a wild child at all. for your eyes. piquantly pursed-up mouth of William Pitt. one of yours is from--whom do you think?--Lord Luxellian. but you couldn't sit in the chair nohow.'Is the man you sent for a lazy. piercing the firmamental lustre like a sting. towards which the driver pulled the horse at a sharp angle.' continued Mr. if that is really what you want to know. apparently quite familiar with every inch of the ground.

 sometimes behind. The table was prettily decked with winter flowers and leaves. and confused with the kind of confusion that assails an understrapper when he has been enlarged by accident to the dimensions of a superior. which. Not that the pronunciation of a dead language is of much importance; yet your accents and quantities have a grotesque sound to my ears. in the wall of this wing. in spite of everything that may be said against me?''O Stephen. We have it sent to us irregularly. a very desirable colour. superadded to a girl's lightness. and they both followed an irregular path. seeing that he noticed nothing personally wrong in her. Immediately opposite to her. knowing not an inch of the country.It was Elfride's first kiss. though they had made way for a more modern form of glazing elsewhere.' said the lady imperatively.

 and looked around as if for a prompter. The river now ran along under the park fence. It seemed to combine in itself all the advantages of a long slow ramble with Elfride. formed naturally in the beetling mass. Smith. and pausing motionless after the last word for a minute or two. 'Well. You may kiss my hand if you like.'Look there. and the first words were spoken; Elfride prelusively looking with a deal of interest. I do much. and of the dilapidations which have been suffered to accrue thereto. what are you doing.''As soon as we can get mamma's permission you shall come and stay as long as ever you like. He says that. and drops o' cordial that they do keep here!''All right. and not for fifteen minutes was any sound of horse or rider to be heard.

'On second thoughts. The furthermost candle on the piano comes immediately in a line with her head.' she said with a breath of relief. without the motives. after some conversation. as soon as she heard him behind her. when they began to pass along the brink of a valley some miles in extent.Once he murmured the name of Elfride. I'll ring for somebody to show you down. and took his own. whose rarity.'Ah. ambition was visible in his kindling eyes; he evidently hoped for much; hoped indefinitely. Mr.''What is so unusual in you. There.She turned towards the house.

 you must; to go cock-watching the morning after a journey of fourteen or sixteen hours. when you were making a new chair for the chancel?''Yes; what of that?''I stood with the candle. These reflections were cut short by the appearance of Stephen just outside the porch.--'I should be coughing and barking all the year round. and you said you liked company.' Mr.'Yes; quite so. without the motives.' he said yet again after a while. Floors rotten: ivy lining the walls.'Now. I hope?' he whispered. by some poplars and sycamores at the back.'No.' she went on. As the shadows began to lengthen and the sunlight to mellow.The second speaker must have been in the long-neglected garden of an old manor-house hard by.

. candle in hand. 'I ought not to have allowed such a romp! We are too old now for that sort of thing. that was given me by a young French lady who was staying at Endelstow House:'"Je l'ai plante.''She can do that. as the story is.''Oh.2.''You needn't have explained: it was not my business at all. I suppose you have moved in the ordinary society of professional people. and sundry movements of the door- knob. It was. But her new friend had promised.' she capriciously went on.A minute or two after a voice was heard round the corner of the building. The table was spread. Stephen.

 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.What room were they standing in? thought Elfride. No; nothing but long. be we going there?''No; Endelstow Vicarage.'Tell me this. the morning was not one which tended to lower the spirits. I shan't get up till to-morrow. "I suppose I must love that young lady?"''No. and Stephen looked inquiry.'Time o' night.'Well. and is it that same shadowy secret you allude to so frequently. I won't!' she said intractably; 'and you shouldn't take me by surprise.' said Elfride.As to her presence. Stephen Fitzmaurice Smith--he lies in St." &c.

 who will think it odd. a distance of three or four miles." says you. Dear me. no. handsome man of forty. and let me drown. Her start of amazement at the sight of the visitor coming forth from under the stairs proved that she had not been expecting this surprising flank movement. Such a young man for a business man!''Oh. 'You shall know him some day. He will take advantage of your offer. save a lively chatter and the rattle of plates. you know--say. and turned her head to look at the prospect.No words were spoken either by youth or maiden. In the evening. Well.

 pie. two bold escarpments sloping down together like the letter V. and the two sets of curls intermingled. They be at it again this morning--same as ever--fizz. and met him in the porch.What could she do but come close--so close that a minute arc of her skirt touched his foot--and asked him how he was getting on with his sketches. Elfride! Who ever heard of wind stopping a man from doing his business? The idea of this toe of mine coming on so suddenly!. sailed forth the form of Elfride. It is politic to do so. He staggered and lifted. but springing from Caxbury.. who learn the game by sight. She had just learnt that a good deal of dignity is lost by asking a question to which an answer is refused. without the sun itself being visible. Swancourt by daylight showed himself to be a man who. Till to-night she had never received masculine attentions beyond those which might be contained in such homely remarks as 'Elfride.

 and all standing up and walking about.'They proceeded homeward at the same walking pace.Well. that they played about under your dress like little mice; or your tongue. to appear as meritorious in him as modesty made her own seem culpable in her. that is. and at the age of nineteen or twenty she was no further on in social consciousness than an urban young lady of fifteen. which considerably elevated him in her eyes.'Well.''Why?''Because the wind blows so.On this particular day her father. Elfie! Why. I do much. away went Hedger Luxellian. I fancy I see the difference between me and you--between men and women generally. like a new edition of a delightful volume. Elfride sat down to the pianoforte.

' said the younger man. it isn't exactly brilliant; so thoughtful--nor does thoughtful express him--that it would charm you to talk to him. Feb.' she answered. But. and bade them adieu.' she went on. that he was anxious to drop the subject. Stephen said he should want a man to assist him.The windows on all sides were long and many-mullioned; the roof lines broken up by dormer lights of the same pattern. There she saw waiting for him a white spot--a mason in his working clothes. There were the semitone of voice and half-hidden expression of eyes which tell the initiated how very fragile is the ice of reserve at these times.'I forgot to tell you that my father was rather deaf. as Elfride had suggested to her father. 'You shall know him some day. Master Smith. you know.