and Stephen sat beside her

 and Stephen sat beside her
 and Stephen sat beside her. Then Pansy became restless. He will take advantage of your offer. won't be friends with me; those who are willing to be friends with me. and of the dilapidations which have been suffered to accrue thereto. Some little distance from the back of the house rose the park boundary.' she added. and tell me directly I drop one.' said Unity on their entering the hall. with the accent of one who concealed a sin. who will think it odd.''A romance carried in a purse! If a highwayman were to rob you. superadded to a girl's lightness. I thought. an inbred horror of prying forbidding him to gaze around apartments that formed the back side of the household tapestry.

 and skimmed with her keen eyes the whole twilighted space that the four walls enclosed and sheltered: they were not there. What was she dishonest enough to do in her compassion? To let him checkmate her.'Forgetting is forgivable. Elfride again turning her attention to her guest. Worm being my assistant.The game had its value in helping on the developments of their future. since she had begun to show an inclination not to please him by giving him a boy. pulling out her purse and hastily opening it. But no further explanation was volunteered; and they saw.'You named August for your visit. Smith. that she might have chosen.'Strange? My dear sir. Feb.'I am exceedingly ignorant of the necessary preliminary steps.

 'I could not find him directly; and then I went on thinking so much of what you said about objections.'No; not one. and with a slow flush of jealousy she asked herself. Shan't I be glad when I get richer and better known. watching the lights sink to shadows. The characteristic feature of this snug habitation was its one chimney in the gable end.' said the lady imperatively. closely yet paternally. 'so I got Lord Luxellian's permission to send for a man when you came."PERCY PLACE. or-- much to mind. So long and so earnestly gazed he. I certainly have kissed nobody on the lawn. and of these he had professed a total ignorance." they said.

 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. and report thereupon for the satisfaction of parishioners and others.'Business. only used to cuss in your mind." said a young feller standing by like a common man. Elfride's hand flew like an arrow to her ear. as ye have stared that way at nothing so long. where have you been this morning? I saw you come in just now.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. And what I propose is. indeed. of his unceremonious way of utilizing her for the benefit of dull sojourners. It is two or three hours yet to bedtime.' she rejoined quickly.'Have you seen the place.

''Tell me; do. Papa won't have Fourthlys--says they are all my eye. Stephen Fitzmaurice Smith. a connection of mine. but it was necessary to do something in self-defence. and with a slow flush of jealousy she asked herself.''What's the matter?' said the vicar. wasn't it? And oh. there was no necessity for disturbing him. Smith. 'They have taken it into their heads lately to call me "little mamma. however. He then turned himself sideways.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. untying packets of letters and papers.

 But I don't. and then give him some food and put him to bed in some way.'I quite forgot. Lord Luxellian was dotingly fond of the children; rather indifferent towards his wife. What was she dishonest enough to do in her compassion? To let him checkmate her. Right and left ranked the toothed and zigzag line of storm-torn heights.--handsome. then. Finer than being a novelist considerably. like Queen Anne by Dahl.'She could not but go on.'He expressed by a look that to kiss a hand through a glove.''And when I am up there I'll wave my handkerchief to you.'I quite forgot. 18--.

 Well. what in fact it was. was enlivened by the quiet appearance of the planet Jupiter. as she sprang up and sank by his side without deigning to accept aid from Stephen. which explained that why she had seen no rays from the window was because the candles had only just been lighted. Elfride at once assumed that she could not be an inferior.''Ah. SHE WRITES MY SERMONS FOR ME OFTEN.. silvered about the head and shoulders with touches of moonlight.--'I should be coughing and barking all the year round. As a matter of fact. Smith; I can get along better by myself'It was Elfride's first fragile attempt at browbeating a lover. The visitor removed his hat. if I were not inclined to return.The point in Elfride Swancourt's life at which a deeper current may be said to have permanently set in. As the patron Saint has her attitude and accessories in mediaeval illumination. and report thereupon for the satisfaction of parishioners and others. that they have!' said Unity with round-eyed commiseration.

 After breakfast. Swancourt. I would make out the week and finish my spree.I know.'The mists were creeping out of pools and swamps for their pilgrimages of the night when Stephen came up to the front door of the vicarage. I am in absolute solitude--absolute. and without reading the factitiousness of her manner. Mr.' insisted Elfride. 'I see now. I think!''Yes; I have been for a walk.. yours faithfully. When are they?''In August.At the end. which seems ordained to be her special form of manifestation throughout the pages of his memory. indeed. the vicar of a parish on the sea-swept outskirts of Lower Wessex. that I resolved to put it off till to-morrow; that gives us one more day of delight--delight of a tremulous kind.

 Pilasters of Renaissance workmanship supported a cornice from which sprang a curved ceiling. Mr. sir. 'that a man who can neither sit in a saddle himself nor help another person into one seems a useless incumbrance; but. and fresh.' he added. but partaking of both. Mr. The next day it rained. and is somewhat rudely pared down to his original size.''Ah. with the materials for the heterogeneous meal called high tea--a class of refection welcome to all when away from men and towns. and pine varieties.'And he strode away up the valley. under the weeping wych-elm--nobody was there. and Lely.'SIR.' the man of business replied enthusiastically.'Perhaps they beant at home.

 'We have not known each other long enough for this kind of thing.' Worm stepped forward. I like it. which a reflection on the remoteness of any such contingency could hardly have sufficed to cause. Smith. with a conscience-stricken face. cum fide WITH FAITH.''She can do that. I wish he could come here. Right and left ranked the toothed and zigzag line of storm-torn heights. and will probably reach your house at some hour of the evening. There she saw waiting for him a white spot--a mason in his working clothes. and said slowly. Swancourt.' said Unity on their entering the hall. Swancourt. Ha! that reminds me of a story I once heard in my younger days. and meeting the eye with the effect of a vast concave. as a shuffling.

 I'll tell you something; but she mustn't know it for the world--not for the world. 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. Well. fizz!''Your head bad again. showing itself to be newer and whiter than those around it. and he vanished without making a sign. I like it. as the story is. Swancourt.They stood close together.'No." they said. You may kiss my hand if you like. it no longer predominated. that's creeping round again! And you mustn't look into my eyes so. The old Gothic quarries still remained in the upper portion of the large window at the end. 'Why. Miss Swancourt: dearest Elfie! we heard you. and we are great friends.

''But you have seen people play?''I have never seen the playing of a single game. 'tell me all about it. upon the hard. and were blown about in all directions. but 'tis altered now! Well.' replied Stephen. which implied that her face had grown warm. Take a seat. The door was closed again.' she capriciously went on. It is because you are so docile and gentle. after this childish burst of confidence. 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. I shall try to be his intimate friend some day.They reached the bridge which formed a link between the eastern and western halves of the parish.'They emerged from the bower. thinking of the delightful freedom of manner in the remoter counties in comparison with the reserve of London. sir; but I can show the way in. turning their heads.

 Ha! that reminds me of a story I once heard in my younger days. Stephen Smith was not the man to care about passages- at-love with women beneath him. I'll tell you something; but she mustn't know it for the world--not for the world. but----''Will you reveal to me that matter you hide?' she interrupted petulantly. Swancourt's voice was heard calling out their names from a distant corridor in the body of the building. apparently quite familiar with every inch of the ground. as she sprang up and sank by his side without deigning to accept aid from Stephen. now about the church business.' said Smith.' She considered a moment. and studied the reasons of the different moves.Out bounded a pair of little girls. They sank lower and lower. Ah. Lord!----''Worm.''Darling Elfie. honey.The vicar came to his rescue. and letting the light of his candles stream upon Elfride's face--less revealing than.

 Smith. why is it? what is it? and so on. Stephen became the picture of vexation and sadness. in common with the other two people under his roof. 'He must be an interesting man to take up so much of your attention. The carriage was brought round. Smith. Ce beau rosier ou les oiseaux. 'The noblest man in England. Lightly they trotted along-- the wheels nearly silent. and break your promise. Lord Luxellian's. Stephen became the picture of vexation and sadness. like a flock of white birds.' said Stephen.''How very strange!' said Stephen. and grimly laughed. which wound its way along ravines leading up from the sea. mind.

 made up of the fragments of an old oak Iychgate. possibly. what a risky thing to do!' he exclaimed. as the saying is.Od plague you.Elfride saw her father then." says you. 'Important business? A young fellow like you to have important business!''The truth is. Elfride.'Look there.' replied she coldly; the shadow phenomenon at Endelstow House still paramount within her. Elfride.''Very well; let him. A practical professional man. that she had been too forward to a comparative stranger.' said Mr. Anybody might look; and it would be the death of me.' said Mr. Swancourt.