were herein her proper character!"
The rest of the evening seemed somewhat long. Evelyn was beginning tofeel very tired, for she had really exerted herself to the utmost.Fortunately it was not the Wyverston habit to keep late hours, and itwas with a feeling of inexpressible relief that she accepted Felicia'shint that she must not hesitate to say good-night, even before the twoor three guests from the neighbourhood had taken their departure.
"They will be going immediately," Miss Headfort added; "and," on secondthoughts, "if you like to come away quietly with me, I will explain itto mamma afterwards, and say good-night for you."
Evelyn thankfully took advantage of this offer, but begged her cousin tolet her go up-stairs alone.
"I can find my way quite well, and I know I shall have everything I wantin my room."
"Very well," said Felicia, kindly. "I think I can trust your maid, fromwhat you say of her, to look after you properly. And our dear oldShepton really does love to make people comfortable, especially if theyare relations."
Nothing could have been more gratifying. And how delightful not to haveto wait till she could write home for sympathy in her satisfaction!
"Oh, Phil," she exclaimed, as she carefully shut the door of her roomwhere her sister was already awaiting her. "Oh, Phil, darling, I amawfully sleepy, I can scarcely keep my eyes open, but I am longing totell you how well I have got on. Everything has been as nice aspossible."
"I am so glad," said Philippa, warmly. "But, Evelyn dear, you must nottalk to-night. Even I am feeling very tired. I believe I had fallenasleep while I was sitting here waiting for you."
And Philippa, who could be resolute in little things as well as in big,carried her point. Half an hour later both sisters were in bed andasleep, and though Philippa did not know it, her care of Evelyn hadsaved herself from a disturbed and perhaps sleepless night. For MrsHeadfort could certainly not have narrated the events of the evening inany detail without repeating her conversation with both the Greshams,and thereby awakening much graver anxiety in Philippa's mind than whatshe had felt herself.
As it was, Philippa slept soundly, her dreams being no more than anamusing jumble of the experiences of the day before. When she awoke, itwas from a peculiarly absurd one, in which Solomon was seated at the endof the housekeeper's table, doing the honour in Mrs Shepton's place,with Philippa's own spectacles on his nose, assuring her that his masterwas the same Mr Gresham whom she had met at Dorriford, and that it wasonly the fact of his travelling second-class which had made her imaginehim less good-looking than before.
But though her dreams had been thus concerned with the realities of thepreceding day, Miss Raynsworth felt strangely confused when she firstawoke. It was daylight, though not yet very clear, for the morning wascloudy--so cloudy, indeed, that in most parts of the country one wouldhave imagined it must be raining. The girl's eyes strayed round thelittle room, and for a moment or two she could not imagine where shewas. Gradually things took shape in her memory, and she half started upin affright.
"It must be late," she thought, "and of all things I must be ready earlyin the morning."
But her fears were exaggerated; she took her watch to the window andfound that it was only half-past six. There was plenty of time to getready for her own breakfast at eight, and to carry in Evelyn's early cupof tea.
She peeped cautiously through the door of her sister's room, as soon asshe was dressed, and was pleased to see her still sleeping peacefully.
"She must not get up to breakfast if she is very tired," thoughtPhilippa. "Mrs Shepton was sure they would not mind her staying inbed, especially this first morning. But if I am to judge her by myself,I rather think she will wake feeling quite rested and invigorated; theair here must be wonderfully bracing."
She had returned to her own little room, and sat down beside the windowwhich she had already thrown open. It was not cold, though a freshbreeze, to Philippa's fancy laden with the scents of the surroundingmoors, blew on her face gently.
"Only a quarter past seven," she said to herself. "I know what I'll do.I will go down-stairs and have a little run, or walk, I suppose--itwould never do for a maid to be seen running--before the breakfast-bellrings. I can keep away from the front of the house, for fear ofpossibly meeting any one who might notice me." With the impulsivenessso curiously mingled with her habit of careful consideration, this wasno sooner said than done. Two minutes later the slight, black-cladfigure of young Mrs Headfort's maid might have been seen making its waythrough some of the paths thickly strewn with fir "needles," among thewoods, which at one side of the house almost extended to the walls.
"Yes," she thought. "It is quite charming here, though perhaps in timeone would get tired of the monotony of these fir-trees. If only I werefree, and not obliged to be in to breakfast till half-past nine, how Iwould enjoy a rush across the moor beyond! I do hope I shall have somechance of a solitary ramble now and then while I am here. For one thingI will _not_ do, and that is, go out walks with the other ladies' maidswho are staying in the house, who, ten to one, would be inviting thevalets to accompany them. All I should want would be a--"
At that instant, as if in reply to her uncompleted sentence, came therush and scamper of a long-bodied, four-footed creature across thecrackly ground.
"Solomon!" exclaimed Philippa, with mingled joy and dismay. "My dearboy, where have you come from? And how did you know I was here?" forthat he did recognise her and was full of delight at the meeting, wasonly too evident! He jumped up on her, he pawed her, he snuffed her,ending by trotting off a few paces and looking back wistfully withunmistakable invitation in his affectionate eyes.
Half thoughtlessly Philippa followed him.
"Where do you want to go to?" she said, laughingly. "Do you think Idon't know the way back to the house?--And, by-the-by, I must be quick,"she added, "or I shall be too late for breakfast."
But as this misgiving struck her she came to a sudden standstill.
CHAPTER NINE.
MINGLED FEELINGS.
For there before her, as might most naturally have been expected, stoodSolomon's master, Mr Gresham the younger. He was clad in a roughshooting-suit, which, even in that moment of annoyance, struck Philippaas becoming him better than his more civilised attire of the day before.
"He is ugly," she thought, "but far from insignificant. That square,sturdy sort of figure has something manly about it," and as at thatmoment a slight involuntary smile parted his lips, and she caught sightof two rows of perfect teeth, another item in his favour was added toher estimate of the outer man of Michael Gresham.
So swiftly, however, did these impressions pass through her, that almostbefore she realised them she felt conscious of the vivid colour rushingto her face.
What was he smiling at?--or rather, what was he staring at, now that thesmile had faded? Was there anything extraordinary in her appearance?Mechanically she raised her hand to her hair, which had indeed got blownout of the prim neatness which was an important part of her presentpersonification, but it was not the touch of the truant locks whichstartled her fingers as they touched her face.
"Oh, dear," she ejaculated, "my spectacles!" For in the exuberance ofher enjoyment of the fresh morning air, and her sense of momentaryfreedom from notice, she had drawn them off and slipped them into herpocket.
It was too late now to undo the mischief, if any, that had been done bytheir absence. Drawing herself together she glanced up almost defiantlyat the young man standing motionless before her, and when she caughtsight of the expression of his face, which from that of surprise haddarkened into gravity, almost approaching disapproval, it was all shecould do to keep silent.
"What business is it of yours whether I wear spectacles or not? Whathave you to do with me in any possible way, I should like to know?" werethe words she would have given worlds to utter in the excess of herannoyance at this new _contretemps_, heightened by her disgust ofherself for the blushes which still remained in angry glow upon herch
eeks.
Not the least discomposed of the trio was poor Solomon. In his doggyway he had meant to act the friendly part of reintroducing to each otherthe two who had seemed not uncongenial companions the day before, andnow, though no words had passed the lips of either his dearly belovedmaster or the new and charming friend who had made him so comfortable inthe train, he was conscious that something was amiss--very much amiss,indeed. He stood there glancing from one to the other almost, asPhilippa afterwards thought to herself, as if there had been tears inhis eyes, so profound was his look of distress and mortification. Shewas on the point of stooping to restore his spirits by a little caress--she could not resist wishing to do so--when with a sudden gruff "Comealong, Solomon," the young man
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