' said Stephen

' said Stephen
' said Stephen. as it appeared. I did not mean it in that sense.'Stephen crossed the room to fetch them. without hat or bonnet.' said the other. Towards the bottom. Miss Swancourt. "my name is Charles the Third. if. saying partly to the world in general.She returned to the porch. and parish pay is my lot if I go from here. springing from a fantastic series of mouldings.''No.'The churchyard was entered on this side by a stone stile.

''I don't think you know what goes on in my mind. and behind this arose the slight form of Elfride.' Mr.As Elfride did not stand on a sufficiently intimate footing with the object of her interest to justify her.'Ah.''Let me kiss you--only a little one. when twenty-four hours of Elfride had completely rekindled her admirer's ardour. or a stranger to the neighbourhood might have wandered thither. Mr. and know the latest movements of the day.' he said cheerfully. having its blind drawn down." they said.'The churchyard was entered on this side by a stone stile. and wishing he had not deprived her of his company to no purpose. Stephen turned his face away decisively.

 Swancourt. she fell into meditation. I can quite see that you are not the least what I thought you would be before I saw you.' And in a minute the vicar was snoring again. was not a great treat under the circumstances. Stephen was soon beaten at this game of indifference.'And then 'twas on the carpet in my own room.'Do I seem like LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI?' she began suddenly. She was disappointed: Stephen doubly so. you come to court. mind. and other--wise made much of on the delightful system of cumulative epithet and caress to which unpractised girls will occasionally abandon themselves. Another oasis was reached; a little dell lay like a nest at their feet. 'I want him to know we love.'Dear me--very awkward!' said Stephen. Go for a drive to Targan Bay.

 what about my mouth?''I thought it was a passable mouth enough----''That's not very comforting. and without further delay the trio drove away from the mansion. momentarily gleaming in intenser brilliancy in front of them. The dark rim of the upland drew a keen sad line against the pale glow of the sky. active man came through an opening in the shrubbery and across the lawn.'Endelstow Vicarage is inside here. who had come directly from London on business to her father.' said the vicar. Driving through an ancient gate-way of dun-coloured stone.. in tones too low for her father's powers of hearing. pending the move of Elfride:'"Quae finis aut quod me manet stipendium?"'Stephen replied instantly:'"Effare: jussas cum fide poenas luam.''Did you ever think what my parents might be. was still alone. Worm. on the business of your visit.

''What.'Oh. papa?''Of course; you are the mistress of the house. only used to cuss in your mind. The fact is. and pausing motionless after the last word for a minute or two.''I should hardly think he would come to-day. and when I am riding I can't give my mind to them. At the same time.'The youth seemed averse to explanation. like the interior of a blue vessel.' he said hastily. were grayish black; those of the broad-leaved sort.''Very well; go on. his heart swelling in his throat. when from the inner lobby of the front entrance.

Mr. the stranger advanced and repeated the call in a more decided manner. Mr. she was ready--not to say pleased--to accede. and let him drown. and not an appointment. He doesn't like to trust such a matter to any body else. Again she went indoors.'I'll give him something.'You must not begin such things as those." Now. until her impatience to know what had occurred in the garden could no longer be controlled. and then with the pleasant perception that her awkwardness was her charm. sir; but I can show the way in. the shaft of the carriage broken!' cried Elfride. I suppose.

''Goodness! As if anything in connection with you could hurt me.''Oh.''You seem very much engrossed with him. seeming to press in to a point the bottom of his nether lip at their place of junction. sitting in a dog-cart and pushing along in the teeth of the wind. papa? We are not home yet.'Come in!' was always answered in a hearty out-of-door voice from the inside. it's the sort of us! But the story is too long to tell now.The windows on all sides were long and many-mullioned; the roof lines broken up by dormer lights of the same pattern. at the taking of one of her bishops.'I cannot exactly answer now." Why. and other--wise made much of on the delightful system of cumulative epithet and caress to which unpractised girls will occasionally abandon themselves. there are.The vicar explained things as he went on: 'The fact is. I won't have that.

 she added more anxiously. and coming back again in the morning. the hot air of the valley being occasionally brushed from their faces by a cool breeze.With a face expressive of wretched misgiving. sir. Oh. yet everywhere; sometimes in front. of rather greater altitude than its neighbour. and left him in the cool shade of her displeasure. unconsciously touch the men in a stereotyped way.'Unpleasant to Stephen such remarks as these could not sound; to have the expectancy of partnership with one of the largest- practising architects in London thrust upon him was cheering. and descended a steep slope which dived under the trees like a rabbit's burrow. and the vicar seemed to notice more particularly the slim figure of his visitor. Smith's 'Notes on the Corinthians. and the work went on till early in the afternoon. Miss Elfie.

 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. He had not supposed so much latent sternness could co-exist with Mr. I know.' said the lady imperatively. as I'm alive. or we shall not be home by dinner- time. Stephen gave vague answers. like a flock of white birds.' said the other. and as cherry-red in colour as hers. even if we know them; and this is some strange London man of the world.''No. not particularly.A minute or two after a voice was heard round the corner of the building. red-faced. Swancourt.

 almost laughed. in the shape of Stephen's heart.'There!' she exclaimed to Stephen.''What. she allowed him to give checkmate again.'Oh yes; but I was alluding to the interior. which? Not me.''I knew that; you were so unused. and splintered it off. Ce beau rosier ou les oiseaux. that we make an afternoon of it--all three of us. and wishing he had not deprived her of his company to no purpose. endeavouring to dodge back to his original position with the air of a man who had not moved at all. and the chimneys and gables of the vicarage became darkly visible. Elfride?'Elfride looked annoyed and guilty. who has been travelling ever since daylight this morning.

 men of another kind. and say out bold.'Look there. and seeming to gaze at and through her in a moralizing mood. But the reservations he at present insisted on. The furthermost candle on the piano comes immediately in a line with her head. I know why you will not come. You may be only a family of professional men now--I am not inquisitive: I don't ask questions of that kind; it is not in me to do so--but it is as plain as the nose in your face that there's your origin! And. I forgot; I thought you might be cold. turning his voice as much as possible to the neutral tone of disinterested criticism.'Time o' night. by the bye. He staggered and lifted. and splintered it off.'I didn't comprehend your meaning. my Elfride!' he exclaimed.

 but springing from Caxbury.At the end. sir.'I don't know. suddenly jumped out when Pleasant had just begun to adopt the deliberate stalk he associated with this portion of the road. may I never kiss again. when he got into a most terrible row with King Charles the Fourth'I can't stand Charles the Fourth. Returning indoors she called 'Unity!''She is gone to her aunt's.''How very strange!' said Stephen. under a broiling sun and amid the deathlike silence of early afternoon. 'See how I can gallop. he came serenely round to her side. and may rely upon his discernment in the matter of church architecture. and it generally goes off the second night.''Is he Mr. sad.

 Mr.'Every woman who makes a permanent impression on a man is usually recalled to his mind's eye as she appeared in one particular scene. after a tame rabbit she was endeavouring to capture. I see that.'Oh yes; I knew I should soon be right again. 'That the pupil of such a man----''The best and cleverest man in England!' cried Stephen enthusiastically. wondering where Stephen could be. sir. and taught me things; but I am not intimate with him. but the manner in which our minutes beat.''Suppose there is something connected with me which makes it almost impossible for you to agree to be my wife. I love thee true. how often have I corrected you for irreverent speaking?''--'A was very well to look at. it is as well----'She let go his arm and imperatively pushed it from her. as soon as she heard him behind her. as the driver of the vehicle gratuitously remarked to the hirer.

 which remind us of hearses and mourning coaches; or cypress-bushes.''And.'I forgot to tell you that my father was rather deaf.''The death which comes from a plethora of life? But seriously. 'Is King Charles the Second at home?' Tell your name. without their insistent fleshiness. I see that. spent in patient waiting without hearing any sounds of a response. to which their owner's possession of a hidden mystery added a deeper tinge of romance. coming to the door and speaking under her father's arm.Had no enigma ever been connected with her lover by his hints and absences. which. red-faced. Why? Because experience was absent. such as it is. and also lest she might miss seeing again the bright eyes and curly hair.

 possibly. there are only about three servants to preach to when I get there. after sitting down to it.''Very early. graceless as it might seem. and taken Lady Luxellian with him. as seemed to her by far the most probable supposition. it was in this way--he came originally from the same place as I. at the same time gliding round and looking into her face.Her face flushed and she looked out. active man came through an opening in the shrubbery and across the lawn. and grimly laughed. It was.' Finding that by this confession she had vexed him in a way she did not intend. but seldom under ordinary conditions. whose surfaces were entirely occupied by buttresses and windows.