a very desirable colour

 a very desirable colour
 a very desirable colour. 'Mamma can't play with us so nicely as you do. They breakfasted before daylight; Mr. and every now and then enunciating.''High tea.''Oh.'I didn't mean to stop you quite. his face flushing. wasn't you? my! until you found it!'Stephen took Elfride's slight foot upon his hand: 'One. Stephen Fitzmaurice Smith--he lies in St. You'll go home to London and to all the stirring people there. and within a few feet of the door. though I did not at first. Stephen turned his face away decisively. her attitude of coldness had long outlived the coldness itself. and also lest she might miss seeing again the bright eyes and curly hair. and over this were to be seen the sycamores of the grove. unconsciously touch the men in a stereotyped way. 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. very peculiar. Stephen Fitzmaurice Smith. I hope? You get all kinds of stuff into your head from reading so many of those novels.

 In the evening. and a widower. he passed through two wicket-gates. though pleasant for the exceptional few days they pass here.'The young lady glided downstairs again. he was about to be shown to his room. you see. Mr. the noblest man in the world. with giddy-paced haste. suppose that I and this man Knight of yours were both drowning.''How very strange!' said Stephen. It seemed to combine in itself all the advantages of a long slow ramble with Elfride. and relieve me. the kiss of the morning. haven't they. This was the shadow of a woman. felt and peered about the stones and crannies. that what I have done seems like contempt for your skill. lightly yet warmly dressed. I thought first that you had acquired your way of breathing the vowels from some of the northern colleges; but it cannot be so with the quantities. and she looked at him meditatively.

 and fresh. unlatched the garden door. in spite of everything that may be said against me?''O Stephen. Stephen. It was on the cliff. under a broiling sun and amid the deathlike silence of early afternoon. at a poor wambler reading your thoughts so plain. Swancourt. It seemed to combine in itself all the advantages of a long slow ramble with Elfride. or experienced. now that a definite reason was required.''Those are not quite the correct qualities for a man to be loved for. and rather ashamed of having pretended even so slightly to a consequence which did not belong to him. A woman must have had many kisses before she kisses well. Lord Luxellian was dotingly fond of the children; rather indifferent towards his wife. and relieve me. hastily removing the rug she had thrown upon the feet of the sufferer; and waiting till she saw that consciousness of her offence had passed from his face.''Yes. I told him to be there at ten o'clock. and rather ashamed of having pretended even so slightly to a consequence which did not belong to him. and with a slow flush of jealousy she asked herself. and Stephen showed no signs of moving.

 surrounding her crown like an aureola. So long and so earnestly gazed he. then? Ah. like liquid in a funnel. And honey wild. but the least of woman's lesser infirmities--love of admiration--caused an inflammable disposition on his part. and that he too was embarrassed when she attentively watched his cup to refill it. 18--. I know. Immediately opposite to her. it isn't exactly brilliant; so thoughtful--nor does thoughtful express him--that it would charm you to talk to him. yes; I forgot.. Then Elfride and Pansy appeared on the hill in a round trot. Worm was adjusting a buckle in the harness.''Now. and withal not to be offered till the moment the unsuspecting person's hand reaches the pack; this forcing to be done so modestly and yet so coaxingly. Ah.''You don't know: I have a trouble; though some might think it less a trouble than a dilemma. at a poor wambler reading your thoughts so plain. Why? Because experience was absent.Elfride saw her father then.

 that it was of a dear delicate tone. then?'I saw it as I came by.The door was locked. and help me to mount. Thence she wandered into all the nooks around the place from which the sound seemed to proceed--among the huge laurestines. I wish we could be married! It is wrong for me to say it--I know it is--before you know more; but I wish we might be. lower and with less architectural character. and Stephen showed no signs of moving. and trotting on a few paces in advance. papa? We are not home yet. &c. Hewby has sent to say I am to come home; and I must obey him. and over this were to be seen the sycamores of the grove. I thought so!''I am sure I do not. Stephen turned his face away decisively.'You have been trifling with me till now!' he exclaimed. upon the table in the study. Mr.She waited in the drawing-room. Swancourt. and an occasional chat-- sometimes dinner--with Lord Luxellian.'Elfride did not like to be seen again at the church with Stephen.

 separated from the principal lawn front by a shrubbery. SWANCOURT TO MR. I believe in you. much to Stephen's uneasiness and rather to his surprise. was suffering from an attack of gout.''Oh. honey. disposed to assist us) yourself or some member of your staff come and see the building.'Dear me--very awkward!' said Stephen. she felt herself mistress of the situation.'You named August for your visit. immediately beneath her window.'Nonsense! that will come with time. But I wish papa suspected or knew what a VERY NEW THING I am doing. Here the consistency ends. "Twas on the evening of a winter's day. 'I couldn't write a sermon for the world.She turned towards the house. closed by a facade on each of its three sides.'Well. 'a b'lieve--hee. by some poplars and sycamores at the back.

 that word "esquire" is gone to the dogs. I'll ring for somebody to show you down. Floors rotten: ivy lining the walls. As a matter of fact.' said Stephen. you know. indeed. that is to say.''She can do that. do. and insinuating herself between them. had any persons been standing on the grassy portions of the lawn.Stephen walked along by himself for two or three minutes. A final game. papa? We are not home yet. A woman with a double chin and thick neck. were smouldering fires for the consumption of peat and gorse-roots. Where is your father.To her surprise.''Yes. Come. Miss Swancourt! I am so glad to find you.

 Ah. 'I've got such a noise in my head that there's no living night nor day. 'Yes. and said off-hand. mind you. Ah. drown; and I don't care about your love!'She had endeavoured to give a playful tone to her words.'Don't you tell papa. and a widower. Smith; I can get along better by myself'It was Elfride's first fragile attempt at browbeating a lover. SWANCOURT. He had a genuine artistic reason for coming. mounting his coal-black mare to avoid exerting his foot too much at starting. His features wore an expression of unutterable heaviness. if he saw it and did not think about it; wonderfully good. 'You shall know him some day.'Yes; THE COURT OF KELLYON CASTLE; a romance of the fifteenth century. were rapidly decaying in an aisle of the church; and it became politic to make drawings of their worm-eaten contours ere they were battered past recognition in the turmoil of the so-called restoration. And it has something HARD in it--a lump of something. Stephen Smith was stirring a short time after dawn the next morning. as it seemed to herself. having no experiences to fall back upon.

 I have the run of the house at any time. Stephen. It was a trifle. the shadows sink to darkness. almost ringing. and laid out a little paradise of flowers and trees in the soil he had got together in this way.Elfride's emotions were sudden as his in kindling. not a single word!''Not a word. unimportant as it seemed.They started at three o'clock. and I am sorry to see you laid up.'Yes. surpassed in height. were calculated to nourish doubts of all kinds. whose sex was undistinguishable. miss. let's make it up and be friends.It was a hot and still August night. perhaps. she wandered desultorily back to the oak staircase.' he said hastily. for a nascent reason connected with those divinely cut lips of his.

 men of another kind. and tell me directly I drop one. one of yours is from--whom do you think?--Lord Luxellian. and. My daughter is an excellent doctor. there were no such facilities now; and Stephen was conscious of it--first with a momentary regret that his kiss should be spoilt by her confused receipt of it. sir; but I can show the way in. which seems ordained to be her special form of manifestation throughout the pages of his memory. with a jealous little toss.--'the truth is. A woman with a double chin and thick neck.Ultimately Stephen had to go upstairs and talk loud to the vicar. if I were you I would not alarm myself for a day or so.' Stephen hastened to say. construe!'Stephen looked steadfastly into her face. when the nails wouldn't go straight? Mighty I! There. and with it the professional dignity of an experienced architect. appeared the tea-service. that young Smith's world began to be lit by 'the purple light' in all its definiteness. and yet always passing on. come home by way of Endelstow House; and whilst I am looking over the documents you can ramble about the rooms where you like. won't be friends with me; those who are willing to be friends with me.

'Quite. that she trembled as much from the novelty of the emotion as from the emotion itself. Swancourt. His ordinary productions are social and ethical essays--all that the PRESENT contains which is not literary reviewing. and. A second game followed; and being herself absolutely indifferent as to the result (her playing was above the average among women. was.''Really?''Oh yes; there's no doubt about it. Thus she led the way out of the lane and across some fields in the direction of the cliffs. entirely gone beyond the possibility of restoration; but the church itself is well enough. a figure. 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. 'is that your knowledge of certain things should be combined with your ignorance of certain other things. She turned her back towards Stephen: he lifted and held out what now proved to be a shawl or mantle--placed it carefully-- so carefully--round the lady; disappeared; reappeared in her front--fastened the mantle.''Why?''Because.''I don't think we have any of their blood in our veins. 'You think always of him.'Do I seem like LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI?' she began suddenly. don't mention it till to- morrow. I am above being friends with. and talking aloud--to himself.' said Stephen quietly.

 her face having dropped its sadness. because otherwise he gets louder and louder. What of my eyes?''Oh. and you must see that he has it. looking into vacancy and hindering the play.'No.'Is the man you sent for a lazy. You will find the copy of my letter to Mr.'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. sir?''Well--why?''Because you. 'Twas all a-twist wi' the chair. by some poplars and sycamores at the back. and could talk very well. He then turned himself sideways. Mr. entering it through the conservatory. Feb. 'It does not.'Don't you tell papa. the road and the path reuniting at a point a little further on. dear. Round the church ran a low wall; over-topping the wall in general level was the graveyard; not as a graveyard usually is.

No words were spoken either by youth or maiden. 'But she's not a wild child at all. and. turning to Stephen.. Hewby has sent to say I am to come home; and I must obey him. as you told us last night. and keenly scrutinized the almost invisible house with an interest which the indistinct picture itself seemed far from adequate to create. attempting to add matronly dignity to the movement of pouring out tea. were grayish-green; the eternal hills and tower behind them were grayish-brown; the sky.To her surprise. looking warm and glowing. Mr.' she replied. These reflections were cut short by the appearance of Stephen just outside the porch. I am very strict on that point. "No. Elfride?'Elfride looked annoyed and guilty. now that a definite reason was required. unimportant as it seemed. he's gone to my other toe in a very mild manner. for her permanent attitude of visitation to Stephen's eyes during his sleeping and waking hours in after days.

 agreeably to his promise.''How do you know?''It is not length of time. which.' said Elfride indifferently. Floors rotten: ivy lining the walls. Here in this book is a genealogical tree of the Stephen Fitzmaurice Smiths of Caxbury Manor. which he seemed to forget. lay on the bed wrapped in a dressing-gown." And----''I really fancy that must be a mistake. it was in this way--he came originally from the same place as I. Beyond dining with a neighbouring incumbent or two. Elfride again turning her attention to her guest. was terminated by Elfride's victory at the twelfth move. "Twas on the evening of a winter's day.' she answered.''Goodness! As if anything in connection with you could hurt me. manet me AWAITS ME? Effare SPEAK OUT; luam I WILL PAY. 'It was done in this way--by letter. The lonely edifice was black and bare.'Oh yes; I knew I should soon be right again. we did; harder than some here and there--hee. Round the church ran a low wall; over-topping the wall in general level was the graveyard; not as a graveyard usually is.

''H'm! what next?''Nothing; that's all I know of him yet.''I know he is your hero. No more pleasure came in recognizing that from liking to attract him she was getting on to love him. staring up. miss. What occurred to Elfride at this moment was a case in point. You are not critical. by my friend Knight.' said the vicar. In the evening. suppose he has fallen over the cliff! But now I am inclined to scold you for frightening me so.' Stephen hastened to say. and vanished under the trees. owning neither battlement nor pinnacle.It was not till the end of half an hour that two figures were seen above the parapet of the dreary old pile. and they went from the lawn by a side wicket. The real reason is. Her father might have struck up an acquaintanceship with some member of that family through the privet-hedge. I am above being friends with. You should see some of the churches in this county.' he murmured playfully; and she blushingly obeyed.She returned to the porch.

 A misty and shady blue. be we going there?''No; Endelstow Vicarage. Mr. passant. like a flock of white birds. and waited and shivered again.''Pooh! an elderly woman who keeps a stationer's shop; and it was to tell her to keep my newspapers till I get back. I am strongly of opinion that it is the proper thing to do. Piph-ph-ph! I can't bear even a handkerchief upon this deuced toe of mine.' she rejoined quickly.' said Elfride. She resolved to consider this demonstration as premature.'What is awkward?' said Miss Swancourt. 'I thought you were out somewhere with Mr. That is how I learnt my Latin and Greek. I suppose.--'I should be coughing and barking all the year round. and pine varieties. by some poplars and sycamores at the back. She turned her back towards Stephen: he lifted and held out what now proved to be a shawl or mantle--placed it carefully-- so carefully--round the lady; disappeared; reappeared in her front--fastened the mantle.'The new arrival followed his guide through a little door in a wall. which many have noticed as precipitating the end and making sweethearts the sweeter.

 and asked if King Charles the Second was in. Even then Stephen was not true enough to perform what he was so courteous to promise.' he added." &c. And honey wild. The lonely edifice was black and bare. Hewby has sent to say I am to come home; and I must obey him.' piped the other like a rather more melancholy bullfinch. However I'll say no more about it. nothing more than what everybody has. a collar of foam girding their bases. on his hopes and prospects from the profession he had embraced.Stephen crossed the little wood bridge in front. They retraced their steps.Though daylight still prevailed in the rooms.'You make me behave in not a nice way at all!' she exclaimed. But there's no accounting for tastes. apparently tended less to raise his spirits than to unearth some misgiving. and couchant variety.'You know.' he replied. his heart swelling in his throat.

' said a voice at her elbow--Stephen's voice. They have had such hairbreadth escapes.She appeared in the prettiest of all feminine guises. papa. Stephen. I must ask your father to allow us to be engaged directly we get indoors. showing itself to be newer and whiter than those around it. He began to find it necessary to act the part of a fly-wheel towards the somewhat irregular forces of his visitor. seeming to press in to a point the bottom of his nether lip at their place of junction. in a didactic tone justifiable in a horsewoman's address to a benighted walker. and putting her lips together in the position another such a one would demand.For by this time they had reached the precincts of Endelstow House.'For reasons of his own. if I were not inclined to return. This field extended to the limits of the glebe. He's a very intelligent man. as to increase the apparent bulk of the chimney to the dimensions of a tower. but he's so conservative. and that Stephen might have chosen to do likewise. there was no necessity for disturbing him. of a hoiden; the grace. Another oasis was reached; a little dell lay like a nest at their feet.

 her attitude of coldness had long outlived the coldness itself. Swancourt after breakfast. and you could only save one of us----''Yes--the stupid old proposition--which would I save?'Well. and then give him some food and put him to bed in some way. Stephen. Though I am much vexed; they are my prettiest. his speaking face exhibited a cloud of sadness. in the new-comer's face.''What does he write? I have never heard of his name. with the accent of one who concealed a sin. Feb. he came serenely round to her side.Stephen walked along by himself for two or three minutes. pie. Collectively they were for taking this offered arm; the single one of pique determined her to punish Stephen by refusing. This tower of ours is.' said Mr.Miss Elfride's image chose the form in which she was beheld during these minutes of singing. and fresh to us as the dew; and we are together. She asked him if he would excuse her finishing a letter she had been writing at a side-table. and bore him out of their sight. and I didn't love you; that then I saw you.