thanwhen
thus
brought
to
the
very
point
to
be
thrown
back
again
,
and
never
permitted
to
produce
that
delicate
bloom
of
his
affections
.
It
was
like
preventing
a
rose
from
putting
forth
its
flowers
,
a
cruelty
equally
prejudicial
to
the
plant
and
to
the
world
.
But
when
this
pang
of
wounded
philanthropy
was
over
,
Miss
Marjoribanks
felt
in
her
heart
that
it
was
Providence
that
had
sent
Mrs
Chiley
at
that
special
moment
.
There
was
no
telling
what
embarrassments
,
what
complications
she
might
not
have
got
into
,
had
Mr
Cavendish
succeeded
in
unbosoming
himself
.
No
doubt
Lucilla
had
a
confidence
that
,
whatever
difficulties
there
might
have
been
,
she
would
have
extricated
herself
from
them
with
satisfaction
and
even
éclat
,
but
still
it
was
better
to
avoid
the
necessity
.
Thus
it
was
with
a
serene
conviction
that
"
whatever
is
,
is
best
,
"
that
Miss
Marjoribanks
betook
herself
to
her
peaceful
slumbers
.
There
are
so
many
people
in
the
world
who
hold
,
or
are
tempted
to
hold
,
an
entirely
different
opinion
,
that
it
is
pleasant
to
linger
over
the
spectacle
of
a
mind
so
perfectly
well
regulated
.
Very
different
were
the
sentiments
of
Mr
Cavendish
,
who
could
not
sleep
for
the
ghosts
that
kept
tugging
at
him
on
every
side
;
and
those
of
Barbara
Lake
,
who
felt
that
for
her
too
the
flower
of
her
hero
's
love
had
been
nipped
in
the
bud
.
But
,
to
be
sure
,
it
is
only
natural
that
goodness
and
self-control
should
have
the
best
of
it
sometimes
even
in
this
uncertain
world
.
Chapter
XXII
The
Archdeacon
returned
to
Carlingford
before
Thursday
,
as
he
had
anticipated
;
but
in
the
interval
Mr
Cavendish
had
not
recovered
his
courage
so
far
as
to
renew
his
visit
to
Miss
Marjoribanks
,
or
to
face
the
man
who
had
alarmed
him
so
much
.
Everybody
in
Grange
Lane
remarked
at
the
time
how
worried
poor
Mrs
Woodburn
looked
.
Her
eyes
lost
their
brightness
,
which
some
people
thought
was
the
only
beauty
she
had
,
and
her
nerves
and
her
temper
both
failed
her
,
no
one
could
tell
why
.
The
personal
sketches
she
made
at
this
moment
were
truculent
and
bitter
to
an
unheard-of
degree
.
She
took
off
Mr
Beverley
with
a
savage
force
which
electrified
her
audience
,
and
put
words
into
his
mouth
which
everybody
admitted
were
exactly
like
him
,
if
he
could
ever
be
imagined
to
have
fallen
into
the
extraordinary
circumstances
in
which
the
mimic
placed
him
.
In
short
,
Mrs
Woodburn
made
a
little
drama
out
of
the
Archdeacon
.
Mr
Beverley
,
of
course
,
knew
nothing
about
this
,
and
showed
some
surprise
now
and
then
at
the
restrained
laughter
which
he
heard
in
the
corners
;
but
when
anybody
spoke
of
Mrs
Woodburn
,
he
showed
an
instinctive
want
of
confidence
.
"
I
have
not
studied
her
sufficiently
to
give
an
opinion
of
her
,
"
he
said
,
which
was
certainly
the
very
reverse
of
her
deliverance
upon
him
.
To
tell
the
truth
,
she
had
rather
studied
him
too
much
,
and
gave
too
keen
an
edge
to
his
characteristic
qualities
,
as
is
natural
to
all
literary
portraiture
,
and
even
went
so
far
that
,
in
the
end
,
people
began
to
ask
whether
she
had
any
personal
spite
against
him
.
"
She
do
n't
know
him
,
"
Mr
Woodburn
said
,
when
he
heard
some
faint
echo
of
this
suggestion
.
"
She
's
clever
,
and
it
carries
her
away
,
you
know
.
She
enters
into
it
so
,
she
do
n't
know
how
far
she
is
going
;
but
I
can
answer
for
it
she
never
saw
the
Archdeacon
before
;
and
Hal
is
n't
here
to
give
her
the
key-note
,
as
she
says
.
He
has
met
everybody
,
I
believe
,
one
place
or
another
,
"
the
simple
man
said
,
with
a
little
natural
pride
;
for
in
his
heart
he
was
vain
of
his
fashionable
brother-in-law
.
As
for
Mr
Cavendish
himself
,
it
began
to
be
understood
that
he
was
with
a
friend
who
was
sick
,
on
the
Continent
;
and
soon
—
for
news
had
a
wonderful
tendency
to
increase
and
grow
bigger
as
it
spread
in
Grange
Lane
—
that
his
friend
was
dying
,
and
that
a
probable
large
increase
of
fortune
to
the
popular
favourite
would
be
the
result
,
which
was
an
idea
that
did
credit
to
the
imagination
of
Carlingford
.
He
had
disappeared
completely
once
more
after
the
eventful
day
which
we
have
described
,
carrying
out
in
the
fullest
way
Lucilla
's
prediction
,
but
striking
Barbara
Lake
with
bitter
disappointment
.
Miss
Marjoribanks
had
a
great
many
things
to
occupy
her
,
but
Barbara
had
nothing
except
the
humble
duty
of
looking
after
her
little
brothers
and
sisters
,
and
attending
to
her
father
's
comfort
,
which
had
never
been
occupations
particularly
to
her
mind
.
And
then
Barbara
was
aware
that
,
if
she
neglected
her
duties
,
Rose
,
on
her
return
from
the
School
of
Design
,
would
do
them
,
though
with
a
fierce
little
outbreak
of
indignation
,
which
the
elder
sister
felt
she
could
bear
;
and
accordingly
,
she
did
little
else
but
brood
over
his
sudden
disappearance
,
and
spend
her
time
at
the
window
looking
for
his
return
.
Lucilla
conducted
herself
,
as
might
have
been
expected
,
in
a
much
more
rational
and
dignified
manner
.
She
made
herself
very
agreeable
to
the
Archdeacon
,
who
unbended
very
much
,
and
grew
very
nice
,
as
Mrs
Chiley
herself
allowed
.
"
But
,
my
dear
,
I
am
uneasy
about
his
opinions
,
"
the
old
lady
said
.
He
certainly
had
a
very
free
way
of
talking
,
and
was
ready
to
discuss
anything
,
and
was
not
approved
of
by
Mr
Bury
.
But
still
he
had
very
good
connections
and
a
nice
position
,
and
had
always
a
chance
of
being
Bishop
of
Carlingford
;
and
in
marriage
it
is
well
known
that
one
never
can
have
everything
one
wants
.
So
that
,
on
the
whole
,
even
Mrs
Chiley
did
not
see
what
difference
his
opinions
made
,
so
far
as
Lucilla
was
concerned
.
When
Miss
Marjoribanks
went
down
to
Colonel
Chiley
's
in
the
evening
and
made
tea
for
the
old
people
,
like
a
daughter
of
the
house
,
Mr
Beverley
was
always
disposed
to
go
over
to
the
enemy
,
as
the
old
Colonel
said
.
No
doubt
he
had
enough
of
Colonel
Chiley
,
who
had
not
received
a
new
idea
into
his
mind
since
the
battle
of
Waterloo
,
and
did
not
see
what
people
had
to
do
with
such
nonsense
.
And
then
the
Archdeacon
would
very
often
walk
home
with
the
young
visitor
.
During
this
time
,
as
was
natural
,
Mr
Beverley
heard
Mr
Cavendish
's
name
a
hundred
times
,
and
regretted
,
like
all
the
world
,
that
so
eminent
a
member
of
the
Carlingford
commonwealth
should
be
absent
during
his
visit
;
but
,
at
the
same
time
,
Lucilla
took
great
care
to
avoid
all
personalities
,
and
kept
a
discreet
silence
even
about
the
gifts
and
accomplishments
of
her
almost-lover
.
Mrs
Chiley
sighed
,
poor
soul
,
when
she
saw
how
her
young
friend
avoided
this
subject
,
and
thought
sometimes
that
he
was
forgotten
,
sometimes
that
the
poor
dear
was
breaking
her
heart
for
him
;
but
it
is
needless
to
say
that
neither
of
these
suppositions
was
in
the
least
true
.
And
then
it
began
to
be
considered
rather
odd
in
Carlingford
that
the
Archdeacon
should
pay
such
a
long
visit
.
Mrs
Chiley
no
doubt
was
very
kind
and
hospitable
,
and
exceedingly
glad
to
receive
such
a
distinguished
clergyman
;
but
when
a
man
has
been
six
weeks
in
any
one
's
house
,
and
shows
no
inclination
of
going
,
it
is
natural
that
people
should
feel
a
little
surprised
.
His
visitation
was
over
,
and
he
had
dined
with
everybody
,
and
studied
the
place
and
its
characteristics
,
and
entered
into
everything
that
was
going
on
.
The
only
thing
,
indeed
,
that
he
did
not
seem
to
think
of
,
was
going
away
.
If
it
had
been
Mr
Cavendish
,
the
chances
are
that
he
would
have
made
himself
so
much
one
of
the
family
,
that
his
departure
would
have
been
felt
as
a
domestic
calamity
;
but
the
Archdeacon
was
very
different
from
Mr
Cavendish
.
So
long
as
he
was
in
the
house
it
was
impossible
to
forget
either
his
position
or
his
ways
of
thinking
,
or
the
absence
of
any
real
connection
between
himself
and
his
hosts
.
He
did
not
combat
or
contradict
anybody
,
but
he
would
give
a
faint
smile
when
the
Colonel
uttered
his
old-fashioned
sentiments
,
which
drove
the
old
soldier
frantic
.
"
As
if
I
was
not
able
to
form
an
opinion
,
by
Jove
!
"
Colonel
Chiley
said
;
while
,
on
the
other
hand
,
the
Archdeacon
was
quite
ready
to
enter
into
the
young
people
's
absurd
theories
,
and
discuss
the
very
Bible
itself
,
as
if
that
were
a
book
to
be
discussed
.
As
for
the
Rector
,
he
turned
his
head
away
when
he
passed
Colonel
Chiley
's
door
,
and
Miss
Bury
made
visits
of
condolence
and
sympathy
.
"
You
must
feel
it
a
great
responsibility
having
Mr
Beverley
with
you
,
"
the
Rector
's
sister
would
say
,
though
naturally
without
any
distinct
explanation
of
her
meaning
;
and
then
she
would
look
at
Mrs
Chiley
and
sigh
.
"
Oh
,
I
am
sure
it
is
a
great
pleasure
,
"
Mrs
Chiley
answered
,
not
willing
to
let
down
the
prestige
of
her
guest
.
"
He
is
very
nice
,
and
takes
a
great
deal
of
interest
in
everything
;
and
then
,
you
know
,
he
is
a
connection
of
ours
.
The
Colonel
's
niece
,
Mary
Chiley
—
—
"
"
Yes
,
I
know
,
"
said
Miss
Bury
.
"
Poor
thing
!
she
looked
suffering
the
last
time
I
saw
her
.
I
hope
she
has
found
the
true
consolation
to
support
her
,
now
she
has
entered
into
the
troubles
of
life
.
"
"
Well
,
yes
,
I
hope
so
,
"
said
Mrs
Chiley
,
a
little
doubtfully
;
"
but
you
know
one
does
not
feel
the
troubles
of
life
very
severely
at
her
age
;
and
I
do
n't
think
I
should
have
called
a
baby
a
trouble
when
I
was
like
her
.
I
never
had
any
,
you
know
,
and
I
used
to
fret
over
it
a
great
deal
;
but
the
Colonel
never
liked
the
noise
of
children
,
and
I
suppose
it
is
all
for
the
best
.
"
"
One
may
always
be
sure
of
that
,
"
said
Miss
Bury
,
in
her
instructive
way
.
"
I
suppose
the
Archdeacon
is
going
soon
,
"
she
added
;
"
he
has
been
here
a
long
time
now
.
I
almost
wonder
he
likes
to
be
so
long
absent
from
his
parish
.
Two
months
,
is
it
not
?
"
"
Oh
,
no
—
not
quite
six
weeks
,
"
said
Mrs
Chiley
briskly
.
"
I
hope
he
may
be
persuaded
to
stay
some
time
longer
.
I
look
upon
it
as
quite
a
compliment
to
Carlingford
;
for
,
to
be
sure
,
he
would
not
stay
if
he
had
not
some
attraction
,
"
said
the
imprudent
old
woman
.
And
this
was
precisely
what
Miss
Bury
wanted
,
as
any
one
of
acute
perceptions
might
have
seen
from
the
first
.
"
It
must
be
a
great
responsibility
for
you
,
"
said
the
Rector
's
sister
,
with
a
sigh
,
pressing
Mrs
Chiley
's
hand
.
"
If
it
should
turn
out
badly
,
you
know
—
—
Of
course
,
my
brother
and
I
do
n't
agree
with
Mr
Beverley
on
all
points
—
though
I
am
sure
I
hope
he
is
quite
conscientious
;
but
I
do
feel
for
you
with
such
a
responsibility
,
"
said
Miss
Bury
,
with
a
look
that
made
the
old
lady
nervous
in
spite
of
herself
.
Thus
,
notwithstanding
all
her
sense
of
the
duties
of
hospitality
,
and
her
anxiety
about
Lucilla
's
interests
,
she
could
not
but
feel
that
it
would
be
rather
a
relief
to
get
so
formidable
a
guest
fairly
out
of
the
house
.
It
is
uncomfortable
,
it
must
be
allowed
,
to
entertain
in
your
house
anybody
,
particularly
a
clergyman
of
whom
your
Rector
does
not
approve
;
and
there
could
be
no
doubt
that
the
Archdeacon
was
not
like
the
clergymen
that
Mrs
Chiley
had
been
accustomed
to
.
"
And
he
could
come
back
another
time
,
"
she
said
to
herself
,
by
way
of
conciliating
her
own
weariness
with
her
visitor
's
advantage
and
the
interests
of
Lucilla
.
But
notwithstanding
these
reflections
on
Mrs
Chiley
's
part
and
notwithstanding
the
Colonel
's
less
amiable
growl
,
uttered
every
morning
—
"
Does
that
parson
of
yours
never
mean
to
go
away
?
"
—
the
Archdeacon
showed
no
intention
of
budging
.
It
was
poor
Mrs
Chiley
who
had
all
the
brunt
to
bear
,
to
exhaust
herself
in
civilities
and
to
be
upbraided
with
"
that
parson
of
yours
"
—
whereas
he
was
not
in
the
least
her
parson
,
nor
even
the
kind
of
man
she
approved
of
as
a
clergyman
.
All
this
,
however
,
the
brave
old
woman
bore
with
fortitude
for
Lucilla
's
sake
:
certainly
it
must
be
Lucilla
who
kept
him
in
Carlingford
—
if
it
were
not
something
else
.
Things
were
in
this
condition
,
Mr
Cavendish
having
again
disappeared
into
utter
darkness
,
and
Carlingford
beginning
to
enter
warmly
into
the
question
whether
or
not
Mr
Beverley
was
paying
attention
to
Lucilla
,
when
it
happened
to
Miss
Marjoribanks
one
morning
to
meet
the
Archdeacon
in
a
little
lane
running
between
Grove
Street
and
Grange
Lane
.
Opening
from
this
lane
was
a
little
door
in
the
wall
,
which
admitted
to
a
little
garden
very
bright
with
flowers
of
the
simplest
old-fashioned
kinds
,
with
a
little
house
planted
at
its
extremity
,
which
had
pretensions
to
be
an
old-fashioned
and
quasi-rural
cottage
,
on
the
score
of
being
very
rickety
,
uncomfortable
,
and
badly
arranged
.
But
it
must
be
a
very
impracticable
erection
indeed
which
does
not
look
tolerable
under
the
bright
sunshine
on
a
summer
noon
,
at
the
end
of
a
pretty
garden
where
children
are
playing
and
birds
singing
,
and
a
woman
or
two
about
.
Lucilla
was
standing
at
the
door
of
this
little
closed-up
hermitage
,
almost
filling
up
the
opening
with
her
crisp
summer
draperies
,
and
affording
only
a
very
partial
and
tempting
glimpse
of
its
flowers
and
shrubs
and
whitewashed
walls
inside
;
and
when
Mr
Beverley
came
up
to
Miss
Marjoribanks
he
felt
his
curiosity
excited
.
"
Is
it
Armida
's
garden
,
or
the
Elysian
fields
—
"
said
the
Archdeacon
;
and
he
made
a
dead
stop
before
the
door
,
not
knowing
any
more
than
any
other
blind
mortal
what
he
was
going
to
find
inside
.
"
I
do
n't
know
anything
about
Armida
,
"
said
Miss
Marjoribanks
;
"
unfortunately
they
were
all
Cambridge
in
their
ways
of
thinking
at
Mount
Pleasant
,
and
our
classics
got
dreadfully
neglected
.
But
you
may
come
in
if
you
like
—
at
least
I
think
you
may
come
in
,
if
you
will
promise
not
to
frighten
the
children
.
I
am
sure
they
never
saw
an
Archdeacon
in
their
lives
.
"
"
Are
there
children
?
"
said
Mr
Beverley
,
with
a
doubtful
air
;
for
,
to
tell
the
truth
,
he
had
come
to
the
age
at
which
men
think
it
best
to
avoid
children
,
unless
,
indeed
,
they
happen
to
have
a
personal
interest
in
them
;
and
he
stretched
his
neck
a
little
to
see
in
over
Miss
Marjoribanks
's
head
.
"
There
are
a
whole
lot
of
children
,
and
a
pretty
governess
,
"
said
Lucilla
.
"
It
is
a
school
,
and
I
am
so
much
interested
in
it
.
I
may
call
it
my
school
,
for
that
matter
.
I
came
to
know
her
in
the
funniest
way
;
but
I
will
tell
you
that
another
time
.
And
it
was
just
my
luck
,
as
usual
.
She
is
so
nice
,
and
quite
a
lady
.
If
you
will
not
say
you
are
an
Archdeacon
,
to
frighten
the
children
,
I
will
let
you
come
in
.
"
"
You
shall
call
me
whatever
you
like
,
"
said
Mr
Beverley
;
"
when
I
am
with
the
lady-patroness
,
what
does
it
matter
what
I
call
myself
?
Let
me
see
how
you
manage
your
educational
department
.
I
have
already
bowed
before
your
genius
in
the
other
branches
of
government
;
but
this
ought
to
be
more
in
my
own
way
.
"
"
I
do
n't
think
you
care
for
visiting
schools
,
"
said
Lucilla
.
"
I
know
you
think
it
is
a
bore
;
but
she
is
so
nice
,
and
so
nice-looking
;
I
am
sure
you
will
be
pleased
with
her
.
I
am
quite
sure
she
is
a
lady
,
and
has
seen
better
days
.
"
"
Oh
,
those
dreadful
women
that
have
seen
better
days
!
"
said
the
Archdeacon
;
"
I
think
Mrs
Chiley
has
a
regiment
of
them
.
It
is
hard
to
know
how
to
get
one
's
self
into
sympathy
with
those
faded
existences
.
They
fill
me
with
an
infinite
pity
;
but
then
what
can
one
do
?
If
one
tries
to
recall
them
to
the
past
,
it
sounds
like
mockery
—
and
if
one
speaks
of
the
present
,
it
wounds
their
feelings
.
It
is
a
great
social
difficulty
,
"
said
Mr
Beverley
;
and
he
fixed
his
eyes
on
the
ground
and
entered
meditatively
,
without
looking
where
he
was
going
,
in
his
Broad-Church
way
.
"
Dear
Mrs
Chiley
is
so
kind
,
"
said
Lucilla
,
who
was
a
little
puzzled
for
the
moment
,
and
did
not
know
what
to
say
.
"
Mrs
Chiley
is
a
good
,
pure
,
gentle
woman
,
"
said
the
Archdeacon
.
He
spoke
in
a
tone
which
settled
the
question
,
and
from
which
there
was
no
appeal
;
and
no
doubt
what
he
said
was
perfectly
true
,
though
it
was
not
a
very
distinct
characterisation
.
Thus
they
went
in
together
into
the
bright
little
garden
,
thinking
of
nothing
in
particular
,
and
loitering
as
people
do
who
do
not
know
what
is
coming
.
There
was
something
that
morning
in
Mr
Beverley
's
tone
and
manner
which
struck
Lucilla
as
something
more
than
usual
.
She
was
not
a
young
woman
to
attach
undue
importance
to
looks
and
tones
;
but
the
Archdeacon
's
manner
was
so
softened
and
mellowed
,
and
his
eyes
had
so
much
expression
in
them
,
and
he
looked
at
Lucilla
with
such
marked
regard
,
that
it
was
impossible
for
her
not
to
recognise
that
a
crisis
might
be
approaching
.
To
be
sure
,
it
was
not
by
any
means
so
near
as
that
crisis
manqué
which
had
so
lately
passed
over
her
head
in
respect
to
Mr
Cavendish
.
But
still
Miss
Marjoribanks
could
not
but
remark
the
signs
of
a
slowly
approaching
and
most
likely
more
important
climax
;
and
as
she
remarked
it
,
Lucilla
naturally
by
anticipation
prepared
herself
for
the
coming
event
that
thus
threw
a
shadow
upon
her
.
She
did
not
make
up
her
mind
to
accept
Mr
Beverley
any
more
than
she
had
made
up
her
mind
to
accept
Mr
Cavendish
;
but
she
thought
it
only
her
duty
to
him
and
to
herself
,
and
to
society
in
general
,
to
take
his
claims
into
full
consideration
.
And
no
doubt
,
if
these
claims
had
seemed
to
her
sufficiently
strong
to
merit
such
a
reward
,
Miss
Marjoribanks
had
it
in
her
to
marry
the
Archdeacon
,
and
make
him
an
admirable
wife
,
though
she
was
not
at
the
present
moment
,
so
far
as
she
was
aware
,
absolutely
what
foolish
people
call
in
love
with
him
.
At
the
same
time
,
she
made
herself
all
the
more
agreeable
to
Mr
Beverley
from
her
sense
of
the
dawn
of
tenderness
with
which
he
regarded
her
.
And
in
this
way
they
went
up
the
broad
central
path
which
traversed
the
little
garden
,
neither
looking
to
the
left
nor
the
right
,
but
presenting
all
that
appearance
of
being
occupied
with
each
other
,
which
,
especially
to
a
female
observer
,
is
so
easy
of
interpretation
.
For
,
to
be
sure
,
the
Archdeacon
had
not
the
remotest
idea
into
whose
house
he
was
going
,
nor
who
it
was
whom
he
was
about
to
see
.
But
as
it
happened
,
Lucilla
's
protégée
,
who
had
seen
better
days
,
had
just
finished
one
of
her
lessons
,
and
sent
her
little
pupils
out
into
the
garden
.
She
was
preparing
for
the
next
little
class
,
when
,
raising
her
eyes
accidentally
,
she
saw
Miss
Marjoribanks
coming
through
the
garden
with
the
Archdeacon
by
her
side
.
She
was
the
same
person
whom
Mr
Bury
had
brought
to
Lucilla
with
the
idea
of
recommending
her
to
Dr
Marjoribanks
as
a
companion
and
chaperone
for
his
daughter
;
but
since
then
Mrs
Mortimer
's
appearance
had
considerably
changed
.
She
had
grown
younger
by
ten
years
during
the
period
of
comparative
comfort
and
tranquillity
which
Lucilla
's
active
help
and
championship
had
procured
for
her
.
Her
house
,
and
her
garden
,
and
her
little
scholars
,
and
the
bloom
on
her
cheeks
,
and
the
filling-up
of
her
worn
frame
,
were
all
Miss
Marjoribanks
's
doing
.
In
the
intervals
of
her
legislative
cares
Lucilla
had
run
about
all
over
Carlingford
searching
for
pupils
,
and
at
the
same
moment
had
cut
and
stitched
and
arranged
,
and
papered
walls
,
and
planted
flower-beds
,
for
the
feeble
creature
thus
thrown
upon
her
.
This
was
a
side
of
Lucilla
's
character
which
certainly
she
did
nothing
to
hide
from
the
public
,
but
which
,
at
the
same
time
,
she
never
made
any
fuss
about
;
and
it
was
an
endless
pleasure
to
her
to
find
a
protégée
so
perfectly
content
to
be
"
done
for
,
"
and
do
as
she
was
told
to
do
.
It
was
thus
that
the
poor
faded
widow
,
who
was
sensitive
and
had
feelings
,
and
forgot
herself
so
far
as
to
faint
,
or
nearly
to
faint
,
just
at
the
most
unlucky
moment
possible
,
when
the
Rector
's
character
and
dignity
demanded
superior
self-control
on
her
part
,
had
found
her
youth
again
and
her
good
looks
under
Lucilla
's
shadow
.
When
she
looked
up
and
saw
the
two
approaching
,
Mrs
Mortimer
's
first
impulse
was
to
smile
at
the
conjunction
;
but
the
next
moment
she
had
dropped
the
books
out
of
her
hands
,
and
was
standing
gazing
out
like
a
woman
in
a
dream
,
with
the
colour
all
gone
out
of
her
cheeks
,
and
even
out
of
her
lips
,
in
the
surprise
of
the
moment
.
It
was
only
surprise
and
a
kind
of
dismay
;
it
was
not
terror
,
like
that
which
Mr
Cavendish
had
exhibited
at
the
same
apparition
.
She
dropped
into
her
chair
without
knowing
it
,
and
probably
would
have
fainted
this
time
also
,
if
something
more
urgent
than
mere
"
feelings
"
had
not
roused
her
up
.
As
it
was
,
it
happened
very
happily
for
her
that
she
had
thus
a
little
preparation
.
When
she
saw
that
her
patroness
was
leading
Mr
Beverley
up
to
the
door
,
and
that
in
a
minute
more
he
would
inevitably
be
brought
to
her
very
side
,
Mrs
Mortimer
roused
up
all
her
strength
.
She
gathered
up
her
books
in
her
hand
without
knowing
very
well
what
she
was
doing
,
and
,
taking
virtue
from
necessity
,
went
desperately
out
to
meet
them
.
It
was
Miss
Marjoribanks
who
first
saw
her
,
white
and
tottering
,
leaning
against
the
trellis
of
the
little
porch
,
and
Lucilla
could
not
but
give
a
little
cry
of
alarm
and
wonder
.
What
kind
of
man
could
this
be
,
who
thus
struck
down
another
victim
without
even
so
much
as
a
glance
?
It
was
just
then
that
the
Archdeacon
raised
his
eyes
,
and
saw
standing
before
him
,
among
the
faded
roses
,
the
woman
whom
he
had
been
approaching
so
indifferently
—
the
faded
existence
that
had
seen
better
days
.
He
saw
her
,
and
he
stood
stock-still
,
as
if
it
was
she
who
was
the
basilisk
,
and
the
look
of
pleased
interest
went
out
of
his
face
in
a
moment
.
In
that
moment
he
had
become
as
unconscious
of
the
presence
of
Lucilla
as
if
he
had
never
in
his
life
softened
his
voice
to
her
ear
,
or
talked
nonsense
to
please
her
.
His
eyes
did
not
seem
big
enough
to
take
in
the
figure
which
stood
shrinking
and
looking
at
him
in
the
porch
.
Then
he
made
one
long
step
forward
,
and
took
hold
of
her
sleeve
—
not
her
hand
—
as
if
to
convince
himself
that
it
was
something
real
he
saw
.
He
showed
no
joy
,
nor
satisfaction
,
nor
anything
but
sheer
amaze
and
wonder
,
at
this
unexpected
appearance
,
for
he
had
not
had
time
to
prepare
himself
as
she
had
.
"
Am
I
dreaming
,
or
is
it
you
?
"
he
said
,
in
a
voice
that
sounded
as
different
from
the
voice
with
which
he
had
been
speaking
to
Lucilla
,
as
if
years
had
elapsed
between
the
two
.
And
it
would
be
vain
to
describe
the
amazement
and
singular
sense
that
the
earth
had
suddenly
given
way
under
her
feet
,
with
which
Miss
Marjoribanks
stood
by
and
looked
on
.
Chapter
XXIII
Miss
Marjoribanks
was
naturally
the
first
to
recover
her
senses
in
this
emergency
.
Even
she
,
self-possessed
as
she
was
,
felt
the
natural
giddiness
inseparable
from
such
a
strange
reversal
of
the
position
.
But
she
did
not
lose
her
head
like
the
others
.
She
looked
at
the
widow
standing
white
and
tremulous
in
the
shadow
of
the
little
porch
,
and
on
the
Archdeacon
,
whose
manly
countenance
had
paled
to
a
corresponding
colour
.
A
man
does
not
seize
a
woman
by
the
sleeve
and
ask
,
"
Is
it
you
?
"
without
some
reason
for
an
address
so
destitute
of
ordinary
courtesy
;
and
Lucilla
was
sufficiently
versed
in
such
matters
to
know
that
so
rude
and
startling
an
accost
could
be
only
addressed
to
some
one
whose
presence
set
the
speaker
's
heart
beating
,
and
quickened
the
blood
in
his
veins
.
It
was
odd
,
to
say
the
least
,
after
the
way
in
which
he
had
just
been
speaking
to
herself
;
but
Miss
Marjoribanks
,
as
has
been
already
said
,
was
not
the
woman
to
lose
her
head
.
She
recovered
herself
with
the
second
breath
she
drew
,
and
took
her
natural
place
.
"
I
can
see
that
you
have
something
to
say
to
each
other
,
"
said
Lucilla
.
"
Mrs
Mortimer
,
ask
Mr
Beverley
to
walk
in
.
Never
mind
me
.
I
want
to
speak
to
the
little
Lakes
.
I
shall
come
back
presently
,
"
Miss
Marjoribanks
added
,
nodding
pleasantly
to
the
Archdeacon
—
and
she
went
away
to
the
other
end
of
the
garden
,
calling
to
the
children
with
that
self-possession
which
is
the
gift
only
of
great
minds
.
But
when
Lucilla
found
herself
at
a
safe
distance
,
and
saw
the
Archdeacon
stoop
to
go
in
under
the
porch
,
it
cannot
be
denied
that
her
mind
was
moved
by
the
sight
.
It
was
she
who
had
seen
after
the
putting-up
of
that
trellis
round
that
porch
,
and
the
arrangement
of
the
wistaria
,
which
had
been
sprawling
all
over
the
front
of
the
house
uncared
for
.
If
there
was
any
place
in
the
world
where
she
should
have
been
free
from
such
a
shock
,
it
certainly
should
have
been
here
,
in
this
spot
,
which
she
had
,
so
to
speak
,
created
.
Naturally
the
unfitness
of
these
surroundings
to
witness
a
revolution
so
unlooked-for
and
disagreeable
struck
Lucilla
.
If
she
had
to
be
again
humiliated
,
and
to
submit
once
more
to
see
another
preferred
to
herself
,
it
certainly
should
have
been
under
other
circumstances
.
When
we
admit
that
such
a
thought
did
pass
through
the
mind
of
Miss
Marjoribanks
,
it
will
prove
to
all
who
know
her
that
Lucilla
found
her
position
sufficiently
aggravating
.
She
had
exerted
herself
for
Mrs
Mortimer
as
nobody
else
in
Carlingford
would
have
exerted
themselves
.
She
had
not
only
found
pupils
and
a
means
of
living
for
the
widow
,
which
,
perhaps
,
a
committee
of
ladies
might
have
done
at
the
end
of
a
year
,
had
it
been
put
into
their
hands
;
but
Miss
Marjoribanks
had
done
it
at
once
,
and
had
taken
charge
of
that
timid
and
maladroit
individual
herself
,
and
set
her
up
,
and
done
everything
for
her
.
It
was
Dr
Marjoribanks
's
gardener
,
under
Lucilla
's
orders
,
who
had
arranged
and
planted
the
garden
,
and
trained
the
embowering
foliage
which
had
just
brushed
the
Archdeacon
's
clerical
hat
as
he
went
in
;
and
in
the
act
of
refurnishing
her
drawing-room
,
Miss
Marjoribanks
had
managed
to
procure
,
without
costing
anybody
anything
except
a
little
trouble
,
as
she
herself
said
,
many
accessories
,
which
gave
an
air
of
comfort
to
the
little
parlour
,
in
which
,
no
doubt
,
at
that
moment
,
Mr
Beverley
and
Mrs
Mortimer
were
explaining
themselves
.
Lucilla
had
a
great
deal
too
much
good
sense
to
upbraid
anybody
with
ingratitude
,
or
even
to
make
any
claim
upon
that
slippery
quality
;
but
she
knew
at
the
same
time
that
the
widow
was
the
very
last
person
from
whom
a
new
discomfiture
should
come
,
and
that
to
enter
in
under
that
trellis
when
he
left
her
was
,
on
the
Archdeacon
's
part
,
an
aggravation
of
the
change
in
his
sentiments
which
it
was
difficult
to
bear
.
She
walked
along
the
garden
path
very
briskly
under
the
influence
of
these
thoughts
,
and
it
was
not
in
nature
to
do
otherwise
than
snub
the
children
when
she
joined
them
.
Lucilla
was
a
woman
of
genius
,
but
she
was
not
faultless
;
and
when
she
found
Ethelinda
and
Ethelfreda
Lake
,
the
two
twins
,
the
one
with
her
clean
frock
all
muddy
and
stained
,
the
other
with
the
front
breadth
torn
right
up
the
middle
,
it
is
scarcely
to
be
wondered
at
if
she
lost
her
patience
.
"
You
little
nasty
untidy
things
!
"
she
said
,
"
I
should
like
to
know
who
you
expect
is
to
go
mending
up
and
washing
every
day
for
you
?
It
will
not
be
Barbara
,
I
am
sure
,
"
Miss
Marjoribanks
added
,
with
a
fine
intonation
of
scorn
,
of
which
the
culprits
were
insensible
;
and
she
gave
Ethelinda
a
shake
,
who
was
sitting
on
the
wet
ground
,
all
muddy
with
recent
watering
,
and
who
,
besides
,
was
the
one
who
most
resembled
Barbara
.
When
this
temporary
ebullition
had
taken
place
,
Lucilla
began
gradually
to
right
herself
.
It
was
a
grand
sight
,
if
anybody
had
been
there
to
witness
it
,
or
if
anybody
could
have
seen
into
Miss
Marjoribanks
's
maiden
bosom
;
but
the
spectacle
of
a
great
mind
thus
recovering
its
balance
is
one
which
can
rarely
be
visible
except
in
its
results
.
While
she
set
the
children
to
rights
,
and
represented
to
Mrs
Mortimer
's
little
servant
,
who
was
in
the
garden
furtively
on
a
pretence
of
cabbages
,
the
extreme
folly
,
and
indeed
idiocy
,
of
letting
them
get
to
the
water
and
make
a
mess
of
themselves
,
Lucilla
was
in
reality
coming
to
herself
.
Perhaps
she
spoke
with
a
little
more
energy
than
usual
;
but
the
offenders
were
so
well
aware
of
their
guilt
,
and
so
thoroughly
satisfied
of
the
justice
of
the
reproof
addressed
to
them
,
that
no
other
explanation
was
necessary
;
and
,
little
by
little
,
Miss
Marjoribanks
felt
herself
restored
to
her
natural
calm
.
"
You
know
I
do
n't
like
to
scold
you
,
"
she
said
;
"
but
what
would
anybody
say
?
—
nice
clean
frocks
,
that
I
am
sure
were
put
on
fresh
this
morning
—
and
you
,
Mary
Jane
—
—
"
"
Please
,
Miss
,
it
was
only
for
a
young
cabbage
.
Missis
is
fond
of
a
bit
of
vegetable
,
"
said
the
little
maid
.
"
I
knew
she
'd
not
say
nothing
;
—
and
just
as
I
had
told
'
em
all
to
have
done
and
be
good
—
and
nobody
knew
as
you
was
here
,
"
said
Mary
Jane
.
There
was
something
even
in
that
small
and
humble
testimony
to
Lucilla
's
sovereignty
which
helped
on
the
process
which
was
operating
in
her
mind
.
She
regained
bit
by
bit
that
serene
self-consciousness
which
places
the
spirit
above
the
passing
vexations
of
the
world
.
What
did
it
matter
what
other
people
might
be
doing
or
saying
?
Was
not
she
still
Lucilla
Marjoribanks
?
and
when
one
had
said
that
,
one
had
said
all
.
"
It
is
time
you
were
all
going
home
to
your
dinners
,
"
said
Lucilla
;
"
and
I
have
asked
Mrs
Mortimer
to
give
you
a
half-holiday
.
As
for
you
,
you
little
Linda
,
you
are
not
fit
to
be
seen
;
and
I
am
sure
if
I
were
your
sister
I
should
send
you
off
to
bed
.
Now
get
all
your
hats
and
things
and
run
away
;
and
if
you
are
not
awfully
good
to-morrow
,
I
shall
never
ask
for
another
half-holiday
again
.
"
Saying
which
,
Miss
Marjoribanks
herself
saw
the
hats
brought
out
,
and
the
little
scholars
sent
away
.
She
took
matters
into
her
own
hand
with
the
confidence
of
a
superior
nature
.
"
After
all
the
long
talk
they
are
having
she
will
not
be
able
for
her
scholars
to-day
,
"
Lucilla
said
magnanimously
to
herself
;
and
she
again
made
the
tour
of
the
garden
,
inspecting
everything
,
to
see
that
all
was
in
order
.
With
every
step
that
she
took
,
Miss
Marjoribanks
became
more
and
more
herself
.
As
we
have
already
said
,
it
was
a
grand
and
inspiring
sight
;
but
then
,
to
be
sure
,
as
in
the
former
case
,
her
affections
,
fortunately
,
were
not
engaged
.
She
was
not
in
love
with
the
Archdeacon
,
any
more
than
she
had
been
in
love
with
Mr
Cavendish
;
—
though
it
is
true
,
love
is
not
everything
.
And
to
think
how
he
had
been
looking
and
talking
not
much
more
than
half
an
hour
ago
,
and
to
reflect
that
now
he
had
most
likely
forgotten
her
very
existence
,
and
was
explaining
himself
,
and
placing
that
position
which
would
have
just
suited
Lucilla
at
the
feet
of
the
object
of
her
bounty
,
was
enough
to
have
driven
a
young
woman
of
ordinary
mind
half
out
of
her
senses
with
disgust
and
indignation
.
But
,
fortunately
,
Lucilla
's
mind
was
not
an
ordinary
one
;
and
every
step
she
took
round
the
garden
restored
her
more
and
more
entirely
to
herself
.
Instead
of
conceiving
any
jealous
dislike
to
Mrs
Mortimer
,
she
had
already
,
as
has
been
stated
,
exerted
herself
with
her
usual
benevolence
to
leave
the
widow
free
for
the
rest
of
the
day
.
"
After
all
,
it
is
not
her
fault
if
she
knew
him
before
,
or
if
he
was
in
love
with
her
,
"
Lucilla
said
to
herself
.
And
when
she
had
arrived
at
this
perfectly
true
and
profoundly
philosophical
conclusion
,
it
may
be
said
that
the
crisis
was
at
an
end
.
But
then
where
personal
offence
and
indignation
(
if
the
natural
shock
to
Miss
Marjoribanks
's
feelings
could
be
called
by
such
hard
names
)
ended
,
bewilderment
and
curiosity
began
.
Who
could
this
Archdeacon
be
who
had
frightened
the
most
popular
man
in
Carlingford
out
of
the
place
,
and
whose
unlooked-for
appearance
had
driven
Mrs
Mortimer
back
out
of
her
recovered
good
looks
and
cheerfulness
into
pallor
and
trembling
?
It
is
true
that
Lucilla
knew
quite
well
who
he
was
—
the
second
son
of
Mr
Beverley
of
Trent
Valley
,
a
family
as
well
known
as
any
family
in
England
.
Everybody
knew
all
about
the
Archdeacon
:
his
career
from
his
youth
up
was
as
clearly
traceable
as
if
he
had
been
killed
in
a
railway
accident
and
had
had
his
memoir
published
in
the
Times
.
There
was
nothing
in
the
smallest
degree
secret
or
mysterious
about
him
;
and
yet
how
could
it
come
about
that
the
sight
of
him
should
frighten
Mr
Cavendish
out
of
his
senses
,
and
make
Mrs
Mortimer
,
who
was
utterly
unconnected
with
Mr
Cavendish
,
all
but
faint
,
as
she
had
done
on
a
former
occasion
?
Was
it
his
mission
to
go
about
the
world
driving
people
into
fits
of
terror
or
agitation
?
To
be
sure
,
he
was
a
Broad-Churchman
,
and
not
the
type
of
clergyman
to
which
Lucilla
in
her
heart
inclined
;
but
still
a
man
may
be
Broad
Church
,
and
speak
a
little
freely
on
religious
matters
,
without
being
a
basilisk
.
As
these
thoughts
went
through
her
mind
,
Miss
Marjoribanks
could
not
help
observing
that
the
branches
of
the
pear-tree
,
which
was
all
that
the
garden
contained
in
the
shape
of
fruit
,
had
come
loose
from
the
wall
,
and
were
swaying
about
greatly
to
the
damage
of
the
half-grown
pears
,
—
not
to
say
that
it
gave
a
very
untidy
look
to
that
corner
.
"
I
must
send
Crawford
down
this
evening
to
fasten
it
up
,
"
Lucilla
said
to
herself
,
and
then
went
on
with
what
she
was
thinking
;
and
she
made
one
or
two
other
remarks
of
the
same
description
in
a
parenthesis
as
she
made
her
tour
.
After
all
,
it
is
astonishing
how
many
little
things
go
wrong
when
the
man
or
woman
with
a
hundred
eyes
is
absent
for
a
few
days
from
the
helm
of
affairs
.
It
was
nearly
a
week
since
Miss
Marjoribanks
had
been
round
Mrs
Mortimer
's
garden
,
and
in
that
time
the
espalier
had
got
detached
,
some
of
the
verbenas
were
dead
in
the
borders
,
and
the
half
of
the
sticks
that
propped
up
the
dahlias
had
fallen
,
leaving
the
plants
in
miserable
confusion
.
Lucilla
shook
her
head
over
this
,
as
she
asked
herself
what
mysterious
influence
there
could
be
in
the
Archdeacon
.
For
her
own
part
,
she
was
not
in
the
slightest
degree
afraid
of
him
,
nor
could
she
confess
to
having
felt
agitated
even
when
he
walked
with
her
into
this
fated
garden
;
but
there
could
be
no
doubt
of
the
seriousness
of
the
effect
produced
by
his
appearance
on
the
two
others
.
"
They
have
broken
half
of
the
props
,
the
little
nuisances
,
"
Lucilla
said
to
herself
,
as
she
pursued
her
musings
.
For
her
large
mind
was
incapable
,
now
that
its
perfect
serenity
was
happily
regained
,
of
confining
itself
,
unless
with
a
very
good
reason
,
to
one
sole
subject
.
When
she
had
finished
her
inspection
,
and
saw
that
nobody
had
yet
appeared
at
the
door
,
Miss
Marjoribanks
collected
the
books
which
the
children
had
left
lying
in
the
summer-house
,
and
put
them
under
cover
—
for
,
to
tell
the
truth
,
it
looked
a
little
like
rain
;
and
having
done
this
,
and
looked
all
round
her
to
see
if
anything
else
required
her
immediate
care
,
Lucilla
carried
philosophy
to
its
highest
practical
point
by
going
away
,
which
is
,
perhaps
,
a
height
of
good
sense
which
may
be
thought
too
much
for
humanity
.
It
was
not
too
much
for
Miss
Marjoribanks
's
legislative
soul
and
knowledge
of
human
nature
;
—
and
in
thus
denying
herself
she
was
perfectly
aware
of
her
advantages
,
and
of
the
inevitable
result
.
She
knew
,
just
as
well
as
if
she
had
already
received
it
,
that
Mrs
Mortimer
would
write
her
a
little
three-cornered
note
,
marked
Private
,
as
soon
as
the
Archdeacon
was
gone
;
and
she
thought
it
was
highly
probable
that
Mr
Beverley
himself
would
come
to
give
some
explanation
.
With
this
tranquil
assurance
in
her
mind
,
Lucilla
turned
her
face
towards
Grange
Lane
.
She
began
to
have
a
kind
of
conviction
too
,
since
this
had
happened
,
either
that
Carlingford
would
not
be
raised
into
a
bishopric
,
or
that
the
Archdeacon
at
least
would
not
be
the
first
bishop
.
It
was
difficult
to
give
any
ground
for
the
idea
,
but
it
came
into
her
mind
with
a
kind
of
quiet
certainty
;
and
with
this
conviction
,
in
which
she
recognised
that
beautiful
self-adjusting
balance
of
compensations
which
keeps
everything
right
in
the
world
,
Lucilla
,
quite
recovered
from
her
shock
,
had
on
the
whole
a
pleasant
walk
home
.
As
for
the
two
who
were
shut
up
together
in
Mrs
Mortimer
's
parlour
,
their
state
of
mind
was
far
from
partaking
of
the
virtuous
peace
and
serenity
which
filled
Miss
Marjoribanks
's
bosom
.
It
was
more
than
an
hour
before
the
Archdeacon
went
away
;
and
when
Mrs
Mortimer
had
a
little
collected
her
faculties
,
the
result
arrived
which
had
been
foreseen
by
Lucilla
.
In
the
first
place
,
terror
seized
the
widow
as
to
what
had
become
of
her
pupils
,
whom
all
this
time
she
had
forgotten
,
and
deep
was
her
gratitude
when
she
had
ascertained
that
her
protecting
genius
had
sent
them
away
.
But
with
that
gratitude
came
a
sudden
recollection
of
the
manner
in
which
Mr
Beverley
and
Miss
Marjoribanks
had
been
coming
together
up
the
garden
path
,
before
the
mistress
of
the
house
showed
herself
.
Mrs
Mortimer
wrung
her
hands
when
she
recollected
the
looks
and
attitude
of
the
two
,
and
the
rumour
which
had
reached
her
ears
that
the
Archdeacon
was
paying
attention
to
Miss
Marjoribanks
.
What
was
she
to
do
?
—
was
her
miserable
presence
here
to
dispel
perhaps
the
youthful
hopes
of
her
benefactress
,
and
make
a
revolution
in
Lucilla
's
prospects
?
The
poor
woman
felt
herself
ready
to
sink
into
the
earth
at
the
thought
.
She
went
to
the
window
and
looked
out
disconsolately
into
the
rain
—
for
it
had
come
on
to
rain
,
as
Lucilla
supposed
it
would
—
and
felt
like
a
creature
in
a
cage
,
helpless
,
imprisoned
,
miserable
,
not
knowing
what
to
do
with
herself
,
and
the
cause
of
trouble
to
her
best
friends
.
A
little
house
in
a
garden
may
look
like
a
little
paradise
in
the
sunshine
,
and
yet
feel
like
a
dungeon
when
a
poor
woman
all
alone
looks
out
across
her
flowers
in
the
rain
,
and
sees
nothing
but
the
wall
that
shuts
her
in
,
and
thinks
to
herself
that
she
has
no
refuge
nor
escape
from
it
—
nobody
to
tell
her
what
to
do
,
nothing
but
her
own
feeble
powers
to
support
her
,
and
the
dreadful
idea
that
she
has
done
harm
and
can
do
no
good
to
her
only
protector
.
Any
reasonable
creature
would
have
said
,
that
to
be
there
in
her
own
house
,
poor
enough
certainly
,
but
secure
,
and
no
longer
driven
lonely
and
distressed
about
the
world
,
was
a
great
matter
.
But
yet
,
after
all
,
the
walls
that
shut
her
in
,
the
blast
of
white
,
sweeping
,
downright
rain
,
which
seemed
to
cut
her
off
from
any
succour
outside
,
and
the
burden
of
something
on
her
mind
which
by
herself
she
was
quite
unable
to
bear
,
was
a
hard
combination
;
and
wringing
one
's
hands
,
and
feeling
one
's
mind
ready
to
give
way
under
a
new
and
unexpected
burden
,
could
not
advance
matters
in
the
slightest
degree
.
She
was
not
strong-minded
,
as
has
been
already
proved
;
nor
,
indeed
,
had
she
the
ordinary
amount
of
indifference
to
other
people
,
or
confidence
in
herself
,
which
stands
in
the
place
of
self-control
with
many
people
.
After
she
had
wrung
her
hands
,
and
looked
out
again
and
again
with
a
vague
instinct
of
perhaps
finding
some
suggestion
of
comfort
outside
,
Mrs
Mortimer
relapsed
by
necessity
into
the
one
idea
that
had
been
a
support
to
her
for
so
many
months
past
.
All
that
she
could
do
was
to
consult
Lucilla
—
it
might
be
to
wound
Lucilla
,
for
anything
she
could
tell
;
but
when
a
poor
creature
is
helpless
and
weak
,
and
has
but
one
friend
in
the
world
who
is
strong
,
what
can
she
do
but
apply
to
her
sustainer
and
guardian
?
When
,
after
beating
about
wildly
from
one
point
to
another
,
she
arrived
ultimately
,
as
might
have
been
predicted
,
and
as
Miss
Marjoribanks
had
expected
from
the
first
,
at
that
conclusion
,
there
remained
a
further
difficulty
in
respect
to
the
means
of
communication
.
Lucilla
had
settled
quite
calmly
in
her
own
mind
that
it
would
be
by
the
medium
of
a
three-cornered
note
,
a
matter
in
which
there
was
no
difficulty
whatever
,
for
the
widow
was
sufficiently
fluent
with
her
pen
;
but
then
Lucilla
had
not
thought
of
Mary
Jane
,
who
was
the
only
possible
messenger
.
It
was
to
this
point
now
that
Mrs
Mortimer
's
ideas
addressed
themselves
.
At
that
moment
the
rain
poured
down
fiercer
than
ever
,
the
bricks
of
the
uncovered
wall
grew
black
with
the
wet
,
and
the
wistaria
crouched
and
shivered
about
the
porch
as
if
it
wanted
to
be
taken
indoors
.
And
then
to
get
wet
,
and
perhaps
catch
cold
,
was
a
thing
Mary
Jane
conscientiously
avoided
,
like
the
rest
of
the
world
;
and
it
was
with
a
sense
of
alarm
even
stronger
than
that
excited
by
the
possibility
of
injuring
Lucilla
,
that
Mrs
Mortimer
very
gently
and
modestly
rang
her
bell
.
"
I
do
n't
think
it
rains
quite
so
heavily
,
"
said
the
timid
experimentalist
,
feeling
her
heart
beat
as
she
made
this
doubtful
statement
.
"
Have
you
a
pair
of
goloshes
,
Mary
Jane
?
"
"
No
,
"
said
the
little
handmaiden
,
with
precaution
;
"
and
,
please
,
if
it
's
for
the
post
,
it
rains
worse
nor
ever
;
and
I
do
n't
think
as
mother
would
like
—
—
"
"
Oh
,
it
is
not
for
the
post
,
"
said
Mrs
Mortimer
;
"
it
is
for
Miss
Marjoribanks
.
You
can
take
mine
,
and
then
you
will
not
get
your
feet
wet
.
I
go
out
so
very
little
;
you
may
have
them
—
to
keep
—
Mary
Jane
.
And
you
can
take
the
big
shawl
that
hangs
in
the
passage
,
and
an
umbrella
.
I
do
n't
think
it
is
so
heavy
as
it
was
.
"
Mary
Jane
regarded
the
rain
gloomily
from
the
window
;
but
her
reluctance
was
at
an
end
from
the
moment
she
heard
that
it
was
to
Miss
Marjoribanks
she
was
going
.
To
be
sure
,
the
distance
between
the
Serenissime
Nancy
and
Thomas
,
and
the
other
inmates
of
the
Doctor
's
kitchen
,
and
Mrs
Mortimer
's
little
handmaiden
,
was
as
great
as
that
which
exists
between
an
English
Duke
and
the
poorest
little
cadet
of
a
large
family
among
his
attendant
gentry
;
but
,
correspondingly
,
the
merest
entrance
into
that
higher
world
was
as
great
a
privilege
for
Mary
Jane
,
as
the
Duke
's
notice
would
be
to
the
Squire
's
youngest
son
.
She
kept
up
a
momentary
show
of
resistance
,
but
she
accepted
the
goloshes
,
and
even
after
a
moment
agreed
in
her
mistress
's
trembling
assertion
about
the
rain
.
And
this
was
how
the
three-cornered
note
got
conveyed
to
its
destination
in
the
heaviest
of
the
storm
,
between
three
and
four
o'clock
in
the
afternoon
.
Mrs
Mortimer
still
sat
at
her
window
,
wringing
her
hands
from
time
to
time
,
with
her
head
aching
and
her
heart
beating
,
and
a
dreadful
question
in
her
mind
as
to
what
Lucilla
would
say
,
or
whether
perhaps
she
might
reject
altogether
in
her
natural
indignation
the
appeal
made
to
her
;
which
was
an
idea
which
filled
the
widow
with
inexpressible
horror
.
While
at
the
same
moment
Miss
Marjoribanks
sat
looking
for
that
appeal
which
she
knew
was
sure
to
come
.
The
rain
had
set
in
by
this
time
with
an
evident
intention
of
lasting
,
and
even
from
the
windows
of
Lucilla
's
drawing-room
the
prospect
of
the
garden
walls
and
glistening
trees
was
sufficiently
doleful
.
Nobody
was
likely
to
call
,
nothing
was
doing
;
and
Lucilla
,
who
never
caught
cold
,
had
not
the
least
fear
of
wetting
her
feet
.
And
besides
,
her
curiosity
had
been
rising
every
moment
since
her
return
;
and
the
widow
's
pathetic
appeal
,
"
Come
to
me
,
my
dearest
Lucilla
.
I
have
nobody
whom
I
can
talk
to
in
the
world
but
you
!
"
had
its
natural
effect
upon
a
mind
so
feeling
.
Miss
Marjoribanks
got
up
as
soon
as
she
had
read
the
note
,
and
changed
her
dress
,
and
put
on
a
great
waterproof
cloak
.
Instead
of
thinking
it
a
trouble
,
she
was
rather
exhilarated
by
the
necessity
.
"
Be
sure
you
make
your
mistress
a
nice
cup
of
tea
as
soon
as
we
get
there
,
"
she
said
to
Mary
Jane
.
"
She
must
want
it
,
I
am
sure
,
if
she
has
not
had
any
dinner
;
"
for
the
little
maid
had
betrayed
the
fact
that
Mrs
Mortimer
could
not
eat
anything
,
and
had
sent
away
her
dinner
,
which
was
naturally
an
alarming
and
wonderful
occurrence
to
Mary
Jane
.
The
widow
was
still
sitting
at
the
window
when
Lucilla
appeared
tripping
across
the
wet
garden
in
her
waterproof
cloak
,
if
not
a
ministering
angel
,
at
least
a
substantial
prop
and
support
to
the
lonely
woman
who
trusted
in
her
,
and
yet
in
the
present
instance
feared
her
.
But
anything
more
unlike
a
disappointed
maiden
,
whose
wooer
had
been
taken
away
from
her
under
her
very
eyes
,
could
not
have
been
seen
.
On
the
contrary
,
Miss
Marjoribanks
was
radiant
,
with
raindrops
glistening
on
her
hair
,
and
what
Mrs
Chiley
called
"
a
lovely
colour
.
"
If
there
was
one
thing
in
the
world
more
than
another
which
contented
Lucilla
,
it
was
to
be
appealed
to
and
called
upon
for
active
service
.
It
did
her
heart
good
to
take
the
management
of
incapable
people
,
and
arrange
all
their
affairs
for
them
,
and
solve
all
their
difficulties
.
Such
an
office
was
more
in
her
way
than
all
the
Archdeacons
in
the
world
.
"
I
saw
you
knew
him
the
moment
I
looked
at
you
,
"
said
Lucilla
.
"
I
have
seen
other
people
look
like
that
when
he
appeared
.
Who
is
he
,
for
goodness
'
sake
?
I
know
quite
well
,
of
course
,
who
he
is
,
in
the
ordinary
way
;
but
do
tell
me
what
has
he
done
to
make
people
look
like
that
whenever
he
appears
?
"
Mrs
Mortimer
did
not
directly
answer
this
question
—
she
fixed
her
mind
upon
one
part
of
it
,
like
an
unreasonable
woman
,
and
repeated
"
Other
people
?
"
with
a
kind
of
interrogative
gasp
.
"
Oh
,
it
was
only
a
gentleman
,
"
said
Lucilla
,
with
rapid
intelligence
;
and
then
there
was
a
little
pause
.
"
He
has
been
here
for
six
weeks
,
"
Miss
Marjoribanks
continued
;
"
you
must
have
heard
of
him
;
indeed
,
you
would
have
heard
him
preach
if
you
had
not
gone
off
after
these
Dissenters
.
Did
you
really
never
know
that
he
was
here
till
to-day
?
"
"
I
did
not
think
of
him
being
Archdeacon
—
he
was
only
a
curate
when
I
used
to
know
him
,
"
said
poor
Mrs
Mortimer
,
with
a
sigh
.
"
Tell
me
all
about
it
,
"
said
Lucilla
,
with
ingenuous
sympathy
;
and
she
drew
her
chair
close
to
that
of
her
friend
,
and
took
her
hand
in
a
protecting
,
encouraging
way
.
"
You
know
,
whatever
you
like
to
say
,
that
it
is
quite
safe
with
me
.
"
"
If
you
are
sure
you
do
not
mind
,
"
said
the
poor
widow
.
"
Oh
,
yes
,
I
have
heard
what
people
have
been
saying
about
him
and
—
and
you
,
Lucilla
;
and
if
I
had
known
,
I
would
have
shut
myself
up
—
I
would
have
gone
away
for
ever
and
ever
—
I
would
—
—
"
"
My
dear
,
"
said
Miss
Marjoribanks
,
with
a
little
severity
,
"
I
thought
you
knew
me
better
.
If
I
had
been
thinking
of
that
sort
of
thing
,
I
never
need
have
come
home
at
all
;
and
when
you
know
how
kind
papa
has
been
about
the
drawing-room
and
everything
.
Say
what
you
were
going
to
say
,
and
never
think
of
me
.
"
"
Ah
,
Lucilla
,
I
have
had
my
life
,
"
said
the
trembling
woman
,
whose
agitation
was
coming
to
a
climax
—
"
I
have
had
it
,
and
done
with
it
;
and
you
have
been
so
good
to
me
;
and
if
,
after
all
,
I
was
to
stand
between
you
and
—
and
—
and
—
anybody
—
—
"
But
here
Mrs
Mortimer
broke
down
,
and
could
say
no
more
.
To
be
sure
,
she
did
not
faint
this
time
any
more
than
she
did
on
the
first
occasion
when
she
made
Miss
Marjoribanks
's
acquaintance
;
but
Lucilla
thought
it
best
,
as
then
,
to
make
her
lie
down
on
the
sofa
,
and
keep
her
quite
quiet
,
and
hasten
Mary
Jane
with
the
cup
of
tea
.
"
You
have
been
agitated
,
and
you
have
not
eaten
anything
,
"
said
Lucilla
.
"
I
am
going
to
stay
with
you
till
half-past
six
,
when
I
must
run
home
for
dinner
,
so
we
have
plenty
of
time
;
and
as
for
your
life
,
I
do
n't
consider
you
gone
off
at
all
yet
,
and
you
are
a
great
deal
younger-looking
than
you
were
six
months
ago
.
I
am
very
glad
the
Archdeacon
did
not
come
until
you
had
got
back
your
looks
.
It
makes
such
a
difference
to
a
man
,
"
Miss
Marjoribanks
added
,
with
that
almost
imperceptible
tone
of
contempt
which
she
was
sometimes
known
to
use
when
speaking
of
Their
absurd
peculiarities
.
As
for
Mrs
Mortimer
,
the
inference
conveyed
by
these
words
brought
the
colour
to
her
pale
cheeks
.
"
It
will
never
come
to
that
,
"
she
said
,
"
no
more
than
it
did
in
old
days
;
it
never
can
,
Lucilla
;
and
I
do
n't
know
that
it
is
to
be
wished
.
I
could
n't
help
being
put
out
a
little
when
I
saw
him
,
you
know
;
but
there
is
one
thing
,
that
he
never
,
never
will
persuade
me
,
"
said
the
widow
.
Lucilla
could
not
but
look
on
in
surprise
and
even
consternation
,
while
Mrs
Mortimer
thus
expressed
herself
.
A
warm
flush
animated
the
pale
and
somewhat
worn
face
—
and
a
gleam
of
something
that
looked
absolutely
like
resolution
shone
in
the
yielding
woman
's
mild
eyes
.
Was
it
possible
that
even
she
had
one
point
upon
which
she
could
be
firm
?
Miss
Marjoribanks
stood
still
,
petrified
,
in
the
very
act
of
pouring
out
the
tea
.
"
If
it
is
only
one
thing
,
if
I
were
you
,
I
would
give
in
to
him
,
"
said
Lucilla
,
with
a
vague
sense
that
this
sort
of
self-assertion
must
be
put
a
stop
to
,
mingling
with
her
surprise
.
"
Never
,
"
said
Mrs
Mortimer
again
,
with
a
still
more
distinct
gleam
of
resolution
.
"
In
the
first
place
,
I
have
no
right
whatever
to
anything
more
than
my
uncle
gave
me
.
He
told
me
himself
I
was
to
have
no
more
;
and
he
was
very
,
very
kind
to
poor
Edward
.
You
do
n't
know
all
the
circumstances
,
or
you
would
not
say
so
,
"
she
cried
,
with
a
sob
.
As
