Volume Two—Chapter Twenty Six.
In Peace.
Surely we have stood upon this spot before.
But the drooping boughs of the old pear-tree afford no shade now to those two persons seated on the rustic bench beneath—being leafless. For it is mid-winter; yet the sky is a glory of unclouded blue above the rolling landscape and dark forests, and the white and dazzling shroud upon the distant mountains.
Not only have we stood upon this spot before; but we have stood here—though unseen—in company with these two identical persons. One of them now wears one arm in a sling, and looks like a man lately recovered from a desperate illness. We will draw near—still unseen—and hear what they are talking about.
“Now, Arthur, I declare I saw you shiver,” exclaimed a bright, playful voice, which sounded very like that of Lilian Strange. “That won’t do, sir—Didn’t the doctor say you were to take enormous care of yourself for a long time to come—the English of which is that I am to do it for you—and I’m going to begin by buttoning up your overcoat, for it’s anything but warm to-day, although the sun is so bright. That’s done,” continued she, with a joyous laugh. “Now for the letters.”
“Bother the letters. They can slide.”
“Can they? Business can slide, eh? And I’m sure one of them looked like a regular ‘dun,’ or a lawyer’s letter at least, in its big, blue envelope. That won’t do, my dear. You’ve got a termagant to deal with, I can tell you. Besides, when all’s said and done, sir, they’re my letters, so out with them.”
She dived her hand into the pocket of his overcoat, and produced two missives. The post had just arrived as they were starting for their stroll; but Lilian, reluctant to let in thoughts of the outside world upon this their first visit to all the dear old places, had deferred investigating the contents.
“Yours, are they?” said Claverton, when he had recovered from the shout of laughter which her idea of a “termagant” had evoked. “Let me set you right on that head. They’re mine, now, at all events. What’s yours is mine—what’s mine’s my own. Eh?”