"I am quite well," she said, not so wearily as indifferently. "I am always well. It is Frank who is ill, you know, uncle."
"Ay, ay," he said, with the expression of gravity which always came upon him when the boy was mentioned. "He looks very pale and thin, poor boy."
Stella sighed, but Jasper broke in cheerfully—
"Better than when he first came," he said. "I noticed the difference directly I saw him. He will pick up his strength famously, you will see."
Stella sighed again.
"You must make sketches of this coast," said Jasper, as if anxious to get away from the subject. "It is particularly picturesque, especially about the cliffs. There is one view in particular which you should not fail to take; you get it from the top of the cliff there."
"Rather a dangerous perch," said Mr. Etheridge, shading his eyes and looking up.
"Yes, it is," assented Jasper. "I have been trying to impress the fact upon Stella. It is her favorite haunt, she tells me, and I am always in fear and trembling when I see her mounting up to it."
The old man smiled.
"You will soon have the right to protect her," he said, glancing at the church. "Have you made all the arrangements?"