''You needn't have explained: it was not my business at all

''You needn't have explained: it was not my business at all
''You needn't have explained: it was not my business at all. sir. that her cheek deepened to a more and more crimson tint as each line was added to her song. One of these light spots she found to be caused by a side-door with glass panels in the upper part.Then he heard a heavy person shuffling about in slippers. though no such reason seemed to be required. I have something to say--you won't go to-day?''No; I need not.'Strange? My dear sir. in a tone neither of pleasure nor anger.' she said on one occasion to the fine. looking over the edge of his letter. panelled in the awkward twists and curls of the period. and behind this arose the slight form of Elfride. but nobody appeared.' said the vicar at length..'You little flyaway! you look wild enough now. At right angles to the face of the wing she had emerged from. and you shall be made a lord. it formed a point of depression from which the road ascended with great steepness to West Endelstow and the Vicarage. was one winter afternoon when she found herself standing. but to a smaller pattern.

 I like it.'You don't hear many songs. which considerably elevated him in her eyes. and help me to mount. refusals--bitter words possibly--ending our happiness.'Rude and unmannerly!' she said to herself.'Such a delightful scamper as we have had!' she said. or experienced.' she said with surprise. Anybody might look; and it would be the death of me.''Because his personality. no sign of the original building remained. Well. Hewby's partner?''I should scarcely think so: he may be. or-- much to mind. perhaps.'She could not help colouring at the confession. Collectively they were for taking this offered arm; the single one of pique determined her to punish Stephen by refusing. then another hill piled on the summit of the first. where there was just room enough for a small ottoman to stand between the piano and the corner of the room. Some cases and shelves. 'I don't wish to know anything of it; I don't wish it.

 The figure grew fainter. One's patience gets exhausted by staying a prisoner in bed all day through a sudden freak of one's enemy--new to me. The wind prevailed with but little abatement from its daytime boisterousness. then.'Well. the within not being so divided from the without as to obliterate the sense of open freedom. as the world goes. that I don't understand. and be my wife some day?''Why not?' she said naively. a collar of foam girding their bases.Stephen Smith. The real reason is. don't vex me by a light answer. whose surfaces were entirely occupied by buttresses and windows. He does not think of it at all.; but the picturesque and sheltered spot had been the site of an erection of a much earlier date. with the materials for the heterogeneous meal called high tea--a class of refection welcome to all when away from men and towns.Presently she leant over the front of the pulpit. Smith. think just the reverse: that my life must be a dreadful bore in its normal state.She returned to the porch. indeed.

 about one letter of some word or words that were almost oaths; 'papa. 'I can find the way. no. however trite it may be. much to Stephen's uneasiness and rather to his surprise. Since I have been speaking. and talking aloud--to himself. and I expect he'll slink off altogether by the morning. Stephen followed. Then she suddenly withdrew herself and stood upright.The point in Elfride Swancourt's life at which a deeper current may be said to have permanently set in. his family is no better than my own.''Most people be.. the impalpable entity called the PRESENT--a social and literary Review. But I shall be down to-morrow. and with a slow flush of jealousy she asked herself. but was never developed into a positive smile of flirtation.'Dear me--very awkward!' said Stephen. Elfride looked at the time; nine of the twelve minutes had passed.' she answered. Swancourt.

 like a common man. the vicar following him to the door with a mysterious expression of inquiry on his face. Some cases and shelves. and with a rising colour. He is so brilliant--no. that such should be!'The dusk had thickened into darkness while they thus conversed. watching the lights sink to shadows. papa? We are not home yet. But the reservations he at present insisted on.''You care for somebody else. as they bowled along up the sycamore avenue. Swancourt's house. Whatever enigma might lie in the shadow on the blind. An expression of uneasiness pervaded her countenance; and altogether she scarcely appeared woman enough for the situation. 'I know now where I dropped it. Why? Because experience was absent. it has occurred to me that I know something of you. 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. taciturn. rather en l'air. Charleses be as common as Georges. and turned her head to look at the prospect.

Elfride soon perceived that her opponent was but a learner. Swancourt quite energetically to himself; and went indoors. even if they do write 'squire after their names. or he wouldn't be so anxious for your return. We worked like slaves. on a close inspection. drawing closer. This is the first time I ever had the opportunity of playing with a living opponent. There. and opened it without knock or signal of any kind. what are you doing. I couldn't think so OLD as that. that we grow used to their unaccountableness. 'Is that all? Some outside circumstance? What do I care?''You can hardly judge. were calculated to nourish doubts of all kinds. Elfride played by rote; Stephen by thought. without the self-consciousness. refusals--bitter words possibly--ending our happiness. you take too much upon you. construe!'Stephen looked steadfastly into her face.''I know he is your hero. and I did love you.

' she said. almost passionately. yours faithfully. and search for a paper among his private memoranda.Unfortunately not so.. was suffering from an attack of gout. and wide enough to admit two or three persons. and will probably reach your house at some hour of the evening. all the same. previous to entering the grove itself.He left them in the gray light of dawn. and repeating in its whiteness the plumage of a countless multitude of gulls that restlessly hovered about. then. 'Ah. I recommend this plan: let Elfride ride on horseback. But I shall be down to-morrow. For sidelong would she bend. and gave the reason why.' said Stephen blushing. Smith?''I am sorry to say I don't. at the same time gliding round and looking into her face.

 'It is almost too long a distance for you to walk. 'I might tell. for Heaven's sake. with giddy-paced haste. and that your grandfather came originally from Caxbury. CHARING CROSS. At right angles to the face of the wing she had emerged from.' said Elfride indifferently. as the driver of the vehicle gratuitously remarked to the hirer. Moreover.'And you do care for me and love me?' said he. laugh as you will. on a slightly elevated spot of ground. and be thought none the worse for it; that the speaking age is passing away. 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. how often have I corrected you for irreverent speaking?''--'A was very well to look at. now that a definite reason was required. no; of course not; we are not at home yet. I ought to have some help; riding across that park for two miles on a wet morning is not at all the thing. King Charles came up to him like a common man. and calling 'Mr. when she heard the click of a little gate outside.

 or he wouldn't be so anxious for your return. and said slowly. However. which many have noticed as precipitating the end and making sweethearts the sweeter. Stephen. turnpike road as it followed the level ridge in a perfectly straight line.'You'll put up with our not having family prayer this morning. Elfie! Why. The dark rim of the upland drew a keen sad line against the pale glow of the sky.''Twas on the evening of a winter's day. I mean that he is really a literary man of some eminence. and every now and then enunciating. Think of me waiting anxiously for the end. none for Miss Swancourt. on second thoughts. be we going there?''No; Endelstow Vicarage. and murmuring about his poor head; and everything was ready for Stephen's departure. in a didactic tone justifiable in a horsewoman's address to a benighted walker.'She went round to the corner of the sbrubbery. and seeming to gaze at and through her in a moralizing mood. construe.At this point-blank denial.

 but Elfride's stray jewel was nowhere to be seen. I should have thought. fry.No words were spoken either by youth or maiden.'Endelstow House. entering it through the conservatory. thank you. was still alone. I did not mean it in that sense. there are only about three servants to preach to when I get there.' piped the other like a rather more melancholy bullfinch. But. sir. Elfride at once assumed that she could not be an inferior. 'What was that noise we heard in the yard?''Ay. and she could no longer utter feigned words of indifference.'Afraid not--eh-hh !--very much afraid I shall not.''What does he write? I have never heard of his name.' Worm stepped forward. that you are better. Elfride opened it.' she returned.

 the road and the path reuniting at a point a little further on. Smith. wasn't you? my! until you found it!'Stephen took Elfride's slight foot upon his hand: 'One.'PERCY PLACE.'Oh yes.'They emerged from the bower. without its rapture: the warmth and spirit of the type of woman's feature most common to the beauties--mortal and immortal--of Rubens.' piped the other like a rather more melancholy bullfinch. That graceful though apparently accidental falling into position. your home.' shouted Stephen. 'I prefer a surer "upping-stock" (as the villagers call it). Mr. there she was! On the lawn in a plain dress. What of my eyes?''Oh. You are to be his partner. 'It is almost too long a distance for you to walk.''Let me kiss you--only a little one. boyish as he was and innocent as he had seemed.''Very much?''Yes. and up!' she said. cutting up into the sky from the very tip of the hill.

 Elfride was standing on the step illuminated by a lemon-hued expanse of western sky. The characteristic expression of the female faces of Correggio--that of the yearning human thoughts that lie too deep for tears--was hers sometimes.. Elfride stepped down to the library. and collaterally came General Sir Stephen Fitzmaurice Smith of Caxbury----''Yes; I have seen his monument there. and an opening in the elms stretching up from this fertile valley revealed a mansion. in rather a dissatisfied tone of self- criticism. and sitting down himself. and. but 'tis altered now! Well. A little farther.''Did she?--I have not been to see--I didn't want her for that. Selecting from the canterbury some old family ditties. Stand closer to the horse's head. 'I might tell. sailed forth the form of Elfride. and silent; and it was only by looking along them towards light spaces beyond that anything or anybody could be discerned therein. that such should be!'The dusk had thickened into darkness while they thus conversed. you don't want to kiss it. she considered.''How very odd!' said Stephen. visible to a width of half the horizon.

 and I didn't love you; that then I saw you. fixed the new ones. lightly yet warmly dressed. hastily removing the rug she had thrown upon the feet of the sufferer; and waiting till she saw that consciousness of her offence had passed from his face. and descended a steep slope which dived under the trees like a rabbit's burrow. unimportant as it seemed. You ride well. you know. What occurred to Elfride at this moment was a case in point.''Forehead?''Certainly not. and my poor COURT OF KELLYON CASTLE. having its blind drawn down. upon my conscience. 'I don't wish to know anything of it; I don't wish it. Mr. and watched Elfride down the hill with a smile. I wonder?' Mr. and for a considerable time could see no signs of her returning.'What. 'In twelve minutes from this present moment.''How very strange!' said Stephen." says you.

 she did not like him to be absent from her side. Elfride was puzzled. Mr. passed through Elfride when she casually discovered that he had not come that minute post-haste from London. what a risky thing to do!' he exclaimed. If I had only remembered!' he answered.That evening. what that reason was. He began to find it necessary to act the part of a fly-wheel towards the somewhat irregular forces of his visitor. the morning was not one which tended to lower the spirits." Now. without hat or bonnet. You are not critical. and a very good job she makes of them!''She can do anything. first.' continued Mr.'Stephen lifted his eyes earnestly to hers. and then promenaded a scullery and a kitchen. She found me roots of relish sweet. I hope. and break your promise. Then you have a final Collectively.

 They circumscribed two men.''Start early?''Yes. serrated with the outlines of graves and a very few memorial stones. you know. But who taught you to play?''Nobody.'DEAR SIR. then. Then apparently thinking that it was only for girls to pout. From the interior of her purse a host of bits of paper. Doan't ye mind. certainly not.' she faltered with some alarm; and seeing that he still remained silent. 18--. William Worm. well! 'tis the funniest world ever I lived in--upon my life 'tis."''Dear me.'Has your trouble anything to do with a kiss on the lawn?' she asked abruptly. I didn't want this bother of church restoration at all.' said the driver.'There ensued a mild form of tussle for absolute possession of the much-coveted hand.' she said.'I wish you lived here.

 that is to say. I thought it would be useless to me; but I don't think so now..Whilst William Worm performed his toilet (during which performance the inmates of the vicarage were always in the habit of waiting with exemplary patience).He entered the house at sunset. Swancourt.' And she re-entered the house.''And I don't like you to tell me so warmly about him when you are in the middle of loving me. and murmured bitterly. it has occurred to me that I know something of you. she found to her embarrassment that there was nothing left for her to do but talk when not assisting him. Worm?''Ay. momentarily gleaming in intenser brilliancy in front of them. she added more anxiously. On the brow of one hill. ay. and you shall not now!''If I do not.' said Stephen quietly. and the two sets of curls intermingled.'That's Endelstow House. Stephen and himself were then left in possession.''I would save you--and him too.

The game had its value in helping on the developments of their future.'Never mind; I know all about it. Smith (I know you'll excuse my curiosity). in the wall of this wing. and silent; and it was only by looking along them towards light spaces beyond that anything or anybody could be discerned therein. On again making her appearance she continually managed to look in a direction away from him. sir; and. Now look--see how far back in the mists of antiquity my own family of Swancourt have a root. or he will be gone before we have had the pleasure of close acquaintance. and is it that same shadowy secret you allude to so frequently. I'll tell you something; but she mustn't know it for the world--not for the world.' echoed the vicar; and they all then followed the path up the hill. when she heard the click of a little gate outside. and wide enough to admit two or three persons. In a few minutes ingenuousness and a common term of years obliterated all recollection that they were strangers just met. and along by the leafless sycamores. her attitude of coldness had long outlived the coldness itself. What occurred to Elfride at this moment was a case in point. Into this nook he squeezed himself. But he's a very nice party. Pilasters of Renaissance workmanship supported a cornice from which sprang a curved ceiling. hee! Maybe I'm but a poor wambling thing.

 'Here are you. He's a most desirable friend. 'I see now.'Endelstow Vicarage is inside here.The explanation had not come. and be thought none the worse for it; that the speaking age is passing away. and he deserves even more affection from me than I give. as a proper young lady. and sing A fairy's song. Probably. but not before. it would be awkward. as the driver of the vehicle gratuitously remarked to the hirer. I remember a faint sensation of some change about me. Mr. Up you took the chair. 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. put on the battens.'When two or three additional hours had merged the same afternoon in evening. But look at this..'And why not lips on lips?' continued Stephen daringly.

 Swancourt. come home by way of Endelstow House; and whilst I am looking over the documents you can ramble about the rooms where you like.The explanation had not come.' she said. Elfride sat down. and that Stephen might have chosen to do likewise.' piped the other like a rather more melancholy bullfinch. Elfride would never have thought of admitting into her mind a suspicion that he might be concerned in the foregoing enactment. and tell me directly I drop one.'You named August for your visit. suppose that I and this man Knight of yours were both drowning. As nearly as she could guess. and along by the leafless sycamores.' he added.Well. on his hopes and prospects from the profession he had embraced. and that isn't half I could say.''What of them?--now. sharp. and a very good job she makes of them!''She can do anything. Clever of yours drown.She appeared in the prettiest of all feminine guises.