Miss Buff was strong also in the matter of needle, work and
knitting--she would even have had the boys knit--but here she had
sustained defeat.
Mr. Carnegie's first visit was to Mrs. Christie, who, since she had
recovered her normal state of health, had resumed her habit of drugging
and complaining. Her son was now at home, and when the doctor and Bessie
rode across the green to the wheelwright's house there was the artist at
work, with a companion under his white umbrella. His companion wore a
maize pique dress and a crimson sash; a large leghorn hat, garnished
with poppies and wheat-ears, hid her face.
"There is Miss Fairfax herself, Janey," whispered young Christie in an
encouraging tone. "Don't be afraid."
Janey half raised her head and gazed at Bessie with shy, distrustful
eyes. Bessie, quite unconscious, reined in Miss Hoyden under the shadow
of a spreading tree to wait while the doctor paid his visit in-doors.
She perceived that there was a whispering between the two under the
white umbrella, and with a pleasant recognition of the young man she
looked another way. After the lapse of a few minutes he approached her,
an unusual modest suffusion overspreading his pale face, and said, "Miss
Fairfax, there is somebody here you once knew. She is very timid, and
says she dares not claim your remembrance, because you must have thought
she had forgotten you."
Bessie turned her head towards the diffident small personage who was
regarding her from the distance.
Pages:
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553