* * * * *

One bright night in April there was an eclipse of the moon, and Mr.

Torkingham, by arrangement, brought to the observatory several labouring

men and boys, to whom he had promised a sight of the phenomenon through

the telescope. The coming confirmation, fixed for May, was again talked

of; and St. Cleeve learnt from the parson that the Bishop had arranged to

stay the night at the vicarage, and was to be invited to a grand luncheon

at Welland House immediately after the ordinance.

This seemed like a going back into life again as regarded the mistress of

that house; and St. Cleeve was a little surprised that, in his

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communications with Viviette, she had mentioned no such probability.

The next day he walked round the mansion, wondering how in its present state

any entertainment could be given therein.

He found that the shutters had been opened, which had restored an

unexpected liveliness to the aspect of the windows. Two men were putting

a chimney-pot on one of the chimney-stacks, and two more were scraping

green mould from the front wall. He made no inquiries on that occasion.

Three days later he strolled thitherward again. Now a great cleaning of

window-panes was going on, Hezzy Biles and Sammy Blore being the

operators, for which purpose their services must have been borrowed from

the neighbouring farmer. Hezzy dashed water at the glass with a force

that threatened to break it in, the broad face of Sammy being discernible

inside, smiling at the onset. In addition to these, Anthony Green and

another were weeding the gravel walks, and putting fresh plants into the

flower-beds. Neither of these reasonable operations was a great

undertaking, singly looked at; but the life Viviette had latterly led and

the mood in which she had hitherto regarded the premises, rendered it

somewhat significant. Swithin, however, was rather curious than

concerned at the proceedings, and returned to his tower with feelings of

interest not entirely confined to the worlds overhead.

Lady Constantine may or may not have seen him from the house; but the

same evening, which was fine and dry, while he was occupying himself in

the observatory with cleaning the eye-pieces of the equatorial, skull-cap

on head, observing-jacket on, and in other ways primed for sweeping, the

customary stealthy step on the winding staircase brought her form in due

course into the rays of the bull's-eye lantern. The meeting was all the

more pleasant to him from being unexpected, and he at once lit up a

larger lamp in honour of the occasion.

'It is but a hasty visit,' she said when, after putting up her mouth to

be kissed, she had seated herself in the low chair used for observations,

panting a little with the labour of ascent. 'But I hope to be able to

come more freely soon. My brother is still living on with me. Yes, he

is going to stay until the confirmation is over. After the confirmation

he will certainly leave. So good it is of you, dear, to please me by

agreeing to the ceremony. The Bishop, you know, is going to lunch with

us. It is a wonder he has promised to come, for he is a man averse to

society, and mostly keeps entirely with the clergy on these confirmation

tours, or circuits, or whatever they call them. But Mr. Torkingham's

house is so very small, and mine is so close at hand, that this

arrangement to relieve him of the fuss of one meal, at least, naturally

suggested itself; and the Bishop has fallen in with it very readily.




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