There was a charming house quite close to the church, which Miss Crane had determined to buy—quite an ideal old maid's cottage, she thought it, with its red-brick walls hidden by climbing roses, its garden sloping down to the riverside, and its cosy little rooms quaintly furnished with old oak. Its late owner had died and it was now to be sold, with all its belongings.
Miss Crane determined to buy it, and then, when everything was arranged, to astonish Ida, Mr. Archdale, and the Whitmans by inviting them to dinner in her new house, and then telling them the delightful news of her good fortune.
She felt very happy in anticipation of this coming pleasure.
She was never tired of imagining the joyful surprise Ida would be sure to show, and the merry days they would have together, arranging the new house.
On the day fixed for seeing the house-agent and finally deciding on the purchase, Miss Crane had asked Ida not to expect to see her, "for," she said gaily, "though but a humble little music teacher, I have some business matters to see about."
"Then," cried Ida, "I shall come and see you in the evening, for Cyril has determined to speak to father in the morning, and I must tell you how everything goes off, though I'm not in the least afraid, notwithstanding all Cyril's forebodings."
"Why? What is he afraid of?" asked Miss Crane.
"Well, you know," said Ida, in melancholy tones, "Cyril is not very rich. Clergymen never are, are they?"
"But," remonstrated Miss Crane, "surely he has some means or he wouldn't think of marrying?"
"He has," answered Ida; "he has £300 a year, which seems to me a great deal of money, but whether it will do so to papa is the question."