'We are late,' he said. 'You will prefer the speediest way, though
it is somewhat steep.'
The most private way, Albinia understood, and could also perceive
that the girls would have liked the street which sloped up the hill,
and thought the lilac and green insulted by being conducted up the
steep, irregular, and not very clean bye-lane that led directly up
the ascent, between houses, some meanly modern, some picturesquely
ancient, with stone steps outside to the upper story, but all with
far too much of pig-stye about them for beauty or fragrance. Lucy
held up her skirts, and daintily picked her way, and Albinia looked
with kindly eyes at the doors and windows, secretly wondering what
friends she should find there.
The lane ended in a long flight of more than a hundred shallow steps
cut out in the soft stone of the hill, with landing-places here and
there, whence views were seen of the rich meadow-landscape beyond,
with villages, orchards, and farms, and the blue winding river Baye
in the midst, woods rising on the opposite side under the soft haze
of distance. On the other side, the wall of rock was bordered by
gardens, with streamers of ivy or periwinkle here and there hanging
down.
The ascent ended in an old-fashioned stone stile; and here Sophy,
standing on the step, proclaimed, with unnecessary loudness, that Mr.
Dusautoy was carrying Mrs. Dusautoy across the churchyard.
Pages:
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31