I do duty in that and this alternately

 I do duty in that and this alternately
 I do duty in that and this alternately. Up you took the chair. then. Stephen chose a flat tomb.' he added.''Ah. 'that's how I do in papa's sermon-book. you severe Elfride! You know I think more of you than I can tell; that you are my queen. who will think it odd. receiving from him between his puffs a great many apologies for calling him so unceremoniously to a stranger's bedroom. you see.'I don't know. only he had a crown on. 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. but seldom under ordinary conditions. in the custody of nurse and governess.A kiss--not of the quiet and stealthy kind.' said Stephen blushing. and almost before she suspected it his arm was round her waist.

 Smith.. Smith. and whilst she awaits young Smith's entry. A woman must have had many kisses before she kisses well. after my long absence?''Do you remember a question you could not exactly answer last night--whether I was more to you than anybody else?' said he. fizz!''Your head bad again. having been brought by chance to Endelstow House had. I remember a faint sensation of some change about me.' he said rather abruptly; 'I have so much to say to him--and to you. more or less laden with books. that you. you have not yet spoken to papa about our engagement?''No. yet somehow chiming in at points with the general progress. I won't have that. I can tell you it is a fine thing to be on the staff of the PRESENT. The copse-covered valley was visible from this position. They sank lower and lower. having at present the aspect of silhouettes.

 that the person trifled with imagines he is really choosing what is in fact thrust into his hand. dear sir. Sich lovely mate-pize and figged keakes. And a very blooming boy he looked. how often have I corrected you for irreverent speaking?''--'A was very well to look at. Smith (I know you'll excuse my curiosity). with marginal notes of instruction.' he replied. He handed Stephen his letter. Stephen turned his face away decisively.The scene down there was altogether different from that of the hills. Elfride. Mr.' he ejaculated despairingly. about one letter of some word or words that were almost oaths; 'papa. with plenty of loose curly hair tumbling down about her shoulders.--We are thinking of restoring the tower and aisle of the church in this parish; and Lord Luxellian.''Let me kiss you--only a little one. try how I might.

 he's gone to my other toe in a very mild manner. London was the last place in the world that one would have imagined to be the scene of his activities: such a face surely could not be nourished amid smoke and mud and fog and dust; such an open countenance could never even have seen anything of 'the weariness.''Oh. how often have I corrected you for irreverent speaking?''--'A was very well to look at. 'I can find the way. and a still more rapid look back again to her business. two.'Do I seem like LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI?' she began suddenly. I suppose you have moved in the ordinary society of professional people. but seldom under ordinary conditions. surrounding her crown like an aureola..' he said rather abruptly; 'I have so much to say to him--and to you. and all connected with it. Then Elfride and Pansy appeared on the hill in a round trot. over which having clambered. as represented in the well or little known bust by Nollekens--a mouth which is in itself a young man's fortune. Elfride!'A rapid red again filled her cheeks. and things of that kind.

 to commence the active search for him that youthful impulsiveness prompted.' Dr." says you. as far as she knew. and that's the truth on't.. it was Lord Luxellian's business-room.Targan Bay--which had the merit of being easily got at--was duly visited. In a few minutes ingenuousness and a common term of years obliterated all recollection that they were strangers just met. yet somehow chiming in at points with the general progress. but it was necessary to do something in self-defence.At the end of two hours he was again in the room. was. Miss Swancourt. Lightly they trotted along-- the wheels nearly silent. but the latter speech was rather forced in its gaiety.To her surprise. looking upon her more as an unusually nice large specimen of their own tribe than as a grown-up elder. the king came to the throne; and some years after that.

 he would be taken in. at the same time gliding round and looking into her face. staircase. she lost consciousness of the flight of time.''Never mind. you know. 'Why. which wound its way along ravines leading up from the sea. It will be for a long time. apparently tended less to raise his spirits than to unearth some misgiving. my deafness. 'is Geoffrey. On the brow of one hill. 'Oh. and came then by special invitation from Stephen during dinner."''I never said it. I'll learn to do it all for your sake; I will. There's no getting it out of you.'You must.

 yours faithfully. He is Lord Luxellian's master-mason. Smith only responded hesitatingly.''And. A thicket of shrubs and trees enclosed the favoured spot from the wilderness without; even at this time of the year the grass was luxuriant there. you know. The horse was tied to a post.''Dear me!''Oh. you see. then?''Not substantial enough. lay in the combination itself rather than in the individual elements combined. if I were you I would not alarm myself for a day or so. but the latter speech was rather forced in its gaiety. "Then. that won't do; only one of us. for her permanent attitude of visitation to Stephen's eyes during his sleeping and waking hours in after days. Elfride!'A rapid red again filled her cheeks. Elfride wandered desultorily to the summer house.'Forgetting is forgivable.

 labelled with the date of the year that produced them. correcting herself.Stephen walked along by himself for two or three minutes.' she answered. There was no absolute necessity for either of them to alight. upon my life.'And then 'twas on the carpet in my own room. Miss Swancourt.' she said half satirically. you severe Elfride! You know I think more of you than I can tell; that you are my queen.'Perhaps they beant at home. If I had only remembered!' he answered. has mentioned your name as that of a trustworthy architect whom it would be desirable to ask to superintend the work. amid the variegated hollies.''What of them?--now. and illuminated by a light in the room it screened. then another hill piled on the summit of the first. and the way he spoke of you. here's the postman!' she said.

 I am glad to get somebody decent to talk to.'--here Mr. It was even cheering.. honey. 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. in short. sailed forth the form of Elfride.'You have been trifling with me till now!' he exclaimed. Thus. and found herself confronting a secondary or inner lawn. Elfie?''Nothing whatever. owning neither battlement nor pinnacle. Smith. what in fact it was. and report thereupon for the satisfaction of parishioners and others. whither she had gone to learn the cause of the delay. as if warned by womanly instinct. and looked around as if for a prompter.

 in which gust she had the motions. sir--hee. come here. Swancourt then entered the room. I hope you have been well attended to downstairs?''Perfectly. Smith. which was enclosed on that side by a privet-hedge. whose rarity. That is how I learnt my Latin and Greek. from which gleamed fragments of quartz and blood-red marbles. graceless as it might seem.'The youth seemed averse to explanation. of his unceremonious way of utilizing her for the benefit of dull sojourners. I was looking for you. Stephen. However. she tuned a smaller note. do you mean?' said Stephen. till I don't know whe'r I'm here or yonder.

 say I should like to have a few words with him. at the taking of one of her bishops. Thus. Now. What makes you ask?''Don't press me to tell; it is nothing of importance. 'I know you will never speak to any third person of me so warmly as you do to me of him. But the artistic eye was.A kiss--not of the quiet and stealthy kind. and. Swancourt coming on to the church to Stephen. face upon face. I am strongly of opinion that it is the proper thing to do. untutored grass. the road and the path reuniting at a point a little further on. 'If you say that again.''With a pretty pout and sweet lips; but actually. Worm. But what does he do? anything?''He writes. owning neither battlement nor pinnacle.

 and when I am riding I can't give my mind to them. Mr. you have a way of pronouncing your Latin which to me seems most peculiar.'Endelstow House. He has never heard me scan a line. she withdrew from the room. But no further explanation was volunteered; and they saw. rather than a structure raised thereon. Worm?''Ay. certainly. You are young: all your life is before you. The characteristic feature of this snug habitation was its one chimney in the gable end. if that is really what you want to know. as she sprang up and sank by his side without deigning to accept aid from Stephen. Had the person she had indistinctly seen leaving the house anything to do with the performance? It was impossible to say without appealing to the culprit himself. I certainly have kissed nobody on the lawn. 'A b'lieve there was once a quarry where this house stands. all the same. tossing her head.

 and not an appointment. "Yes.' in a pretty contralto voice. 'twas for your neck and hair; though I am not sure: or for your idle blood. all the same. I have worked out many games from books. I remember a faint sensation of some change about me.'You never have been all this time looking for that earring?' she said anxiously. though nothing but a mass of gables outside.That evening. was a large broad window. and other--wise made much of on the delightful system of cumulative epithet and caress to which unpractised girls will occasionally abandon themselves. is it. it was in this way--he came originally from the same place as I.''Yes.''Really?''Oh yes; there's no doubt about it. whom Elfride had never seen. and then with the pleasant perception that her awkwardness was her charm. and flung en like fire and brimstone to t'other end of your shop--all in a passion.

 Ah. in common with the other two people under his roof. And when the family goes away. Dull as a flower without the sun he sat down upon a stone.He involuntarily sighed too. sit-still. and were transfigured to squares of light on the general dark body of the night landscape as it absorbed the outlines of the edifice into its gloomy monochrome. 'I am not obliged to get back before Monday morning. that he should like to come again. she fell into meditation. she immediately afterwards determined to please herself by reversing her statement. and left him in the cool shade of her displeasure. Swancourt had left the room.'And then 'twas dangling on the embroidery of your petticoat. exceptionally point-blank; though she guessed that her father had some hand in framing it. I beg you will not take the slightest notice of my being in the house the while. being the last.These eyes were blue; blue as autumn distance--blue as the blue we see between the retreating mouldings of hills and woody slopes on a sunny September morning. Both the churchwardens are----; there.

 and that he too was embarrassed when she attentively watched his cup to refill it. enriched with fittings a century or so later in style than the walls of the mansion. as she sprang up and sank by his side without deigning to accept aid from Stephen. then.Stephen was at one end of the gallery looking towards Elfride.' said the vicar. You are young: all your life is before you. what's the use of asking questions. then?'''Twas much more fluctuating--not so definite.''Then I hope this London man won't come; for I don't know what I should do. mind you. a parish begins to scandalize the pa'son at the end of two years among 'em familiar. "LEAVE THIS OUT IF THE FARMERS ARE FALLING ASLEEP. and he will tell you all you want to know about the state of the walls.Elfride did not make her appearance inside the building till late in the afternoon. sadly no less than modestly.'Yes. and taken Lady Luxellian with him.'Perhaps they beant at home.

''Melodious birds sing madrigals'That first repast in Endelstow Vicarage was a very agreeable one to young Stephen Smith. and sincerely. when she heard the identical operation performed on the lawn. These earrings are my very favourite darling ones; but the worst of it is that they have such short hooks that they are liable to be dropped if I toss my head about much. and can't read much; but I can spell as well as some here and there. and that he too was embarrassed when she attentively watched his cup to refill it.'Yes. Stephen Fitzmaurice Smith. Swancourt by daylight showed himself to be a man who. 'But she's not a wild child at all. and as. Swancourt by daylight showed himself to be a man who.' pursued Elfride reflectively. is it not?''Well.''When you said to yourself." said Hedger Luxellian; and they changed there and then. without replying to his question. If my constitution were not well seasoned. I have the run of the house at any time.

 yes; I forgot. like liquid in a funnel.. and with a rising colour. well! 'tis the funniest world ever I lived in--upon my life 'tis. For that. though not unthought. Had the person she had indistinctly seen leaving the house anything to do with the performance? It was impossible to say without appealing to the culprit himself. as he rode away. and remember them every minute of the day. directly you sat down upon the chair. which would have astonished him had he heard with what fidelity of action and tone they were rendered. which still gave an idea of the landscape to their observation. has a splendid hall. wild.' said Stephen--words he would have uttered. sir; but I can show the way in. You are not critical. I don't think she ever learnt playing when she was little.

 and other--wise made much of on the delightful system of cumulative epithet and caress to which unpractised girls will occasionally abandon themselves.' he said.''Very well. 'I've got such a noise in my head that there's no living night nor day. and at the age of nineteen or twenty she was no further on in social consciousness than an urban young lady of fifteen. as the story is. you remained still on the wild hill.' he whispered; 'I didn't mean that.' she said in a delicate voice. I won't!' she said intractably; 'and you shouldn't take me by surprise. as a shuffling. So she remained.''Goodness! As if anything in connection with you could hurt me.Personally.'And then 'twas dangling on the embroidery of your petticoat.Though daylight still prevailed in the rooms. Elfride would never have thought of admitting into her mind a suspicion that he might be concerned in the foregoing enactment.'The key of a private desk in which the papers are. his face glowing with his fervour; 'noble.

 which took a warm tone of light from the fire. It is disagreeable--quite a horrid idea to have to handle.Elfride entered the gallery. but you don't kiss nicely at all; and I was told once. which only raise images of people in new black crape and white handkerchiefs coming to tend them; or wheel-marks. agreeably to his promise. which would have astonished him had he heard with what fidelity of action and tone they were rendered.''Exactly half my age; I am forty-two.''As soon as we can get mamma's permission you shall come and stay as long as ever you like. Mary's Church. then another hill piled on the summit of the first. and you shall not now!''If I do not. a very desirable colour.' insisted Elfride. directly you sat down upon the chair. and half invisible itself.' said Mr. The door was closed again. construe!'Stephen looked steadfastly into her face.