He looked wistfully at her
when he was setting out to take leave at the Vicarage, but she had
absorbed herself in flannel shirts, and would not meet his eye, nor
did he venture to make the request that she would come with him.
Indeed, confidences there could be but few, for Maurice and Albinia
hung on either side of him, so that he could hardly move, but he
resisted all attempt to free him even from the little girl, who was
hardly out of his arms for ten minutes together. It was only from
her broken words that her mother understood that from the vicarage he
had gone to the church. Poor little Albinia did not like it at all.
'Why was brother Edmund up in the church, and why did Gilbert cry?'
Maurice angrily enunciated, 'Men never cry,' but not a word of the
visit to the church came from him.
Algernon Dusautoy had wisely absented himself, and the two sisters
devoted themselves to the tasks in hand. Sophy worked as hard as did
Mrs. Kendal, and spoke even less, and Lucy took care of Mrs. Meadows,
whose nerves were painfully excited by the bustle in the house. It
had been agreed that she should not hear of her grandson's intention
till the last moment, and then he went in, putting on a cheerful
manner, to bid her good-bye, only disclosing that he was going to
London, but little as she could understand, there was an instinct
about her that could not be deceived, and she began to cry helplessly
and violently.
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