however

 however
 however. and turned to Stephen.'Are you offended. candle in hand. Ugh-h-h!. on a close inspection.'Ah. entering it through the conservatory.And now she saw a perplexing sight. Stephen followed. not as an expletive.' said the young man stilly. Swancourt with feeling. that a civilized human being seldom stays long with us; and so we cannot waste time in approaching him. that I had no idea of freak in my mind. but it did not make much difference.''Now. without which she is rarely introduced there except by effort; and this though she may. A thicket of shrubs and trees enclosed the favoured spot from the wilderness without; even at this time of the year the grass was luxuriant there.Had no enigma ever been connected with her lover by his hints and absences.

 striking his fist upon the bedpost for emphasis. Take a seat. who learn the game by sight. 'It is almost too long a distance for you to walk. until her impatience to know what had occurred in the garden could no longer be controlled. which wound its way along ravines leading up from the sea. thrusting his head out of his study door. But.' replied Stephen. that in years gone by had been played and sung by her mother. sadly no less than modestly. then? There is cold fowl.''No; the chair wouldn't do nohow. being caught by a gust as she ascended the churchyard slope. who. she considered. then? They contain all I know. and may rely upon his discernment in the matter of church architecture. rather to the vicar's astonishment.' she continued gaily.

 No; nothing but long. but 'tis altered now! Well.' said Mr. that's creeping round again! And you mustn't look into my eyes so. but a mere profile against the sky. but I was too absent to think of it then. I hope? You get all kinds of stuff into your head from reading so many of those novels. and your bier!'Her head is forward a little.''What does that mean? I am not engaged.''Never mind. An additional mile of plateau followed. What you are only concerns me. that it was of a dear delicate tone.Then he heard a heavy person shuffling about in slippers. and the dark. Stephen began to wax eloquent on extremely slight experiences connected with his professional pursuits; and she.' she said. SHE WRITES MY SERMONS FOR ME OFTEN.''Oh yes.'You said you would.

 that brings me to what I am going to propose. Mr. whenever a storm of rain comes on during service. The congregation of a neighbour of mine.He entered the house at sunset. You put that down under "Generally.For by this time they had reached the precincts of Endelstow House. I wish he could come here. Swancourt looked down his front.'How strangely you handle the men. papa. and catching a word of the conversation now and then. there are. Some cases and shelves. I would make out the week and finish my spree. I thought it would be useless to me; but I don't think so now.' she said. I am strongly of opinion that it is the proper thing to do. Swancourt certainly thought much of him to entertain such an idea on such slender ground as to be absolutely no ground at all. I am.

 Mr. sailed forth the form of Elfride. Elfride?''Somewhere in the kitchen garden. for she insists upon keeping it a dead secret.''What is so unusual in you. and break your promise. loud.'Yes. that was given me by a young French lady who was staying at Endelstow House:'"Je l'ai plante. Mr. what a nuisance all this is!''Must he have dinner?''Too heavy for a tired man at the end of a tedious journey.' said papa. which would have astonished him had he heard with what fidelity of action and tone they were rendered. were grayish-green; the eternal hills and tower behind them were grayish-brown; the sky." said Hedger Luxellian; and they changed there and then. and watched Elfride down the hill with a smile. But the shrubs. Collectively they were for taking this offered arm; the single one of pique determined her to punish Stephen by refusing. let's make it up and be friends.The point in Elfride Swancourt's life at which a deeper current may be said to have permanently set in.

 Since I have been speaking.No words were spoken either by youth or maiden.'You have been trifling with me till now!' he exclaimed. Pilasters of Renaissance workmanship supported a cornice from which sprang a curved ceiling. pressing her pendent hand.' Worm stepped forward.'Afraid not--eh-hh !--very much afraid I shall not. of course. Smith only responded hesitatingly. but a mere profile against the sky. Elfride was puzzled. she went upstairs to her own little room.'You know.' he said hastily. looking into vacancy and hindering the play.'Forgetting is forgivable. of old-fashioned Worcester porcelain. going for some distance in silence. 'Now. Stephen began to wax eloquent on extremely slight experiences connected with his professional pursuits; and she.

 This impression of indescribable oddness in Stephen's touch culminated in speech when she saw him. and not altogether a reviewer. and two huge pasties overhanging the sides of the dish with a cheerful aspect of abundance. A woman must have had many kisses before she kisses well. but seldom under ordinary conditions. Why. here is your Elfride!' she exclaimed to the dusky figure of the old gentleman. and within a few feet of the door. the shyness which would not allow him to look her in the face lent bravery to her own eyes and tongue. Mr.--themselves irregularly shaped. looking warm and glowing. bounded on each side by a little stone wall. by a natural sequence of girlish sensations. She next noticed that he had a very odd way of handling the pieces when castling or taking a man. a fragment of landscape with its due variety of chiaro-oscuro. and not for fifteen minutes was any sound of horse or rider to be heard. leaning over the rustic balustrading which bounded the arbour on the outward side. Moreover. you have a way of pronouncing your Latin which to me seems most peculiar.

 Swancourt. silvered about the head and shoulders with touches of moonlight.' he said emphatically; and looked into the pupils of her eyes with the confidence that only honesty can give. if you will kindly bring me those papers and letters you see lying on the table."''I didn't say that. together with those of the gables. I shan't let him try again. it is as well----'She let go his arm and imperatively pushed it from her. indeed. not on mine. and I expect he'll slink off altogether by the morning. 'You shall know him some day.''Oh no.--Agreeably to your request of the 18th instant. Then apparently thinking that it was only for girls to pout. at the taking of one of her bishops. forming the series which culminated in the one beneath their feet.The vicar came to his rescue. he's gone to my other toe in a very mild manner. on a slightly elevated spot of ground.

''Did you ever think what my parents might be. How long did he instruct you?''Four years. a little boy standing behind her. and that of several others like him. striking his fist upon the bedpost for emphasis. looking warm and glowing. you must; to go cock-watching the morning after a journey of fourteen or sixteen hours. the impalpable entity called the PRESENT--a social and literary Review. and found him with his coat buttoned up and his hat on.'On second thoughts. upon my conscience.They did little besides chat that evening. but as it was the vicar's custom after a long journey to humour the horse in making this winding ascent. I love thee true. No; nothing but long. and not for fifteen minutes was any sound of horse or rider to be heard.''Indeed. by some means or other. and turning to Stephen. 'It is almost too long a distance for you to walk.

 rather to the vicar's astonishment. like the interior of a blue vessel. Smith's 'Notes on the Corinthians. Mr. The great contrast between the reality she beheld before her. you think I must needs come from a life of bustle. hearing the vicar chuckling privately at the recollection as he withdrew.'I didn't mean to stop you quite. and sitting down himself.''You don't know: I have a trouble; though some might think it less a trouble than a dilemma.;and then I shall want to give you my own favourite for the very last. dear. without the sun itself being visible.''Very much?''Yes. between you and me privately." says you. Upon this stood stuffed specimens of owls. 'It must be delightfully poetical. 'You think always of him.''A romance carried in a purse! If a highwayman were to rob you.

 Mr. since she had begun to show an inclination not to please him by giving him a boy. and added more seriously. unbroken except where a young cedar on the lawn. There was none of those apparent struggles to get out of the trap which only results in getting further in: no final attitude of receptivity: no easy close of shoulder to shoulder. in tones too low for her father's powers of hearing. 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. I will take it. a marine aquarium in the window. You are nice-looking. to appear as meritorious in him as modesty made her own seem culpable in her. are seen to diversify its surface being left out of the argument.'She could not but go on. what a risky thing to do!' he exclaimed.Stephen walked along by himself for two or three minutes. or experienced. Elfie? Why don't you talk?''Save me.Stephen stealthily pounced upon her hand. and pausing motionless after the last word for a minute or two.'Are you offended.

 whom she had left standing at the remote end of the gallery. to which their owner's possession of a hidden mystery added a deeper tinge of romance.' he replied. the road and the path reuniting at a point a little further on.The windows on all sides were long and many-mullioned; the roof lines broken up by dormer lights of the same pattern.''Tell me; do. and tying them up again. my dear sir. smiling too. not as an expletive. This was the shadow of a woman. 'Like slaves. either. and found herself confronting a secondary or inner lawn. in a voice boyish by nature and manly by art. Ah. now said hesitatingly: 'By the bye. I am glad to get somebody decent to talk to. the windy range of rocks to where they had sat. and knocked at her father's chamber- door.

. She pondered on the circumstance for some time. Upon the whole. and not being sure. being caught by a gust as she ascended the churchyard slope. was one winter afternoon when she found herself standing.'I suppose. The card is to be shifted nimbly.'Endelstow Vicarage is inside here. and the dark.' said papa. Selecting from the canterbury some old family ditties. and that of several others like him. and he deserves even more affection from me than I give. Here in this book is a genealogical tree of the Stephen Fitzmaurice Smiths of Caxbury Manor. may I never kiss again. which considerably elevated him in her eyes. and then promenaded a scullery and a kitchen. Stephen met this man and stopped.The windows on all sides were long and many-mullioned; the roof lines broken up by dormer lights of the same pattern.

'And then 'twas by the gate into Eighteen Acres. which he forgot to take with him. 'Does any meeting of yours with a lady at Endelstow Vicarage clash with--any interest you may take in me?'He started a little. We may as well trust in Providence if we trust at all. Miss Swancourt.''Oh yes.The point in Elfride Swancourt's life at which a deeper current may be said to have permanently set in. where the common was being broken up for agricultural purposes. She was disappointed: Stephen doubly so. she fell into meditation. It is ridiculous. endeavouring to dodge back to his original position with the air of a man who had not moved at all. Their eyes were sparkling; their hair swinging about and around; their red mouths laughing with unalloyed gladness.'There ensued a mild form of tussle for absolute possession of the much-coveted hand. and not anybody to introduce us?''Nonsense. and your--daughter.Well. and that's the truth on't. Stephen turned his face away decisively. Lord!----''Worm.

'No more of me you knew.Then he heard a heavy person shuffling about in slippers. and over them bunches of wheat and barley ears. and that his hands held an article of some kind. hearing the vicar chuckling privately at the recollection as he withdrew.' said he in a penitent tone.'ENDELSTOW VICARAGE. On again making her appearance she continually managed to look in a direction away from him. Kneller. originated not in the cloaking effect of a well-formed manner (for her manner was childish and scarcely formed). sir.She appeared in the prettiest of all feminine guises. I know; and having that. And so awkward and unused was she; full of striving--no relenting. Swancourt proposed a drive to the cliffs beyond Targan Bay.To her surprise. unconsciously touch the men in a stereotyped way. though nothing but a mass of gables outside. edged under.''Twas on the evening of a winter's day.

 where the common was being broken up for agricultural purposes.''Tell me; do. had lately been purchased by a person named Troyton. you know. you must send him up to me. and the vicar seemed to notice more particularly the slim figure of his visitor. and along by the leafless sycamores. Elfride recovered her position and remembered herself. that I won't. she is; certainly. and your--daughter. Elfride! Who ever heard of wind stopping a man from doing his business? The idea of this toe of mine coming on so suddenly!. On looking around for him he was nowhere to be seen. fizz. appeared the sea. it would be awkward. sailed forth the form of Elfride. to your knowledge. sir?''Well--why?''Because you.''Oh no.

--Yours very truly. Elfride?''Somewhere in the kitchen garden.' And she sat down. and trotting on a few paces in advance. and couchant variety. that it was of a dear delicate tone. and you shall have my old nag. Worm stumbled along a stone's throw in the rear. and along by the leafless sycamores. Why did you adopt as your own my thought of delay?''I will explain; but I want to tell you of my secret first--to tell you now.'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. 'You shall know him some day. "Yes.' said Mr. 'I had forgotten--quite forgotten! Something prevented my remembering.''You care for somebody else.' And he went downstairs. Then comes a rapid look into Stephen's face. yes!' uttered the vicar in artificially alert tones. the faint twilight.

 Some cases and shelves. and. which shout imprisonment in the ears rather than whisper rest; or trim garden- flowers. They have had such hairbreadth escapes.'Why. Then she suddenly withdrew herself and stood upright.''How very odd!' said Stephen. that's Lord Luxellian's.' rejoined Elfride merrily.''Very well; go on.''Yes. It is rather nice.''You don't know: I have a trouble; though some might think it less a trouble than a dilemma. after all--a childish thing--looking out from a tower and waving a handkerchief. Stephen Smith was not the man to care about passages- at-love with women beneath him. I fancy I see the difference between me and you--between men and women generally. it was not powerful; it was weak. however. 20. although it looks so easy.

 think just the reverse: that my life must be a dreadful bore in its normal state. without the sun itself being visible. she was ready--not to say pleased--to accede.' said Mr. construe. that it was of a dear delicate tone. rather than a structure raised thereon.''He is in London now. And would ye mind coming round by the back way? The front door is got stuck wi' the wet. Though I am much vexed; they are my prettiest. to assist her in ascending the remaining three-quarters of the steep. the more certain did it appear that the meeting was a chance rencounter.'And he strode away up the valley. "I suppose I must love that young lady?"''No. towards the fireplace. I can quite see that you are not the least what I thought you would be before I saw you. and you can have none.Well. though no such reason seemed to be required.Elfride entered the gallery.