Louis answered in the affirmative, and Sir George added—
“I shall give you a treat. You shall go on Sunday to A——, and hear the singing at the church there. The little boys sing very sweetly. Have you heard them ma'am?”
“No, I never have.”
“Then I think it would be a wise step to pay a visit there during divine service next Sunday. The church is worth looking at,—a good specimen of the early English style of architecture. We can make up a little party to go, if you would like it.”
Mrs. Paget expressed her entire approbation of the scheme, and Louis, too sleepy to think much of it, wished her and Sir George good night, and went to bed.
The next day, the rain continuing, in the morning Louis enjoyed The Lady of the Manor in his own room. He was still much excited by the yesterday's pleasure, and felt unsettled, and disinclined to employ himself steadily with any thing. In the afternoon, as the weather was fine, his mother insisted on his taking a walk, and Reginald and Vernon Digby accompanied him. They had a great scramble through the hilly district that surrounded Heronhurst, and merrily the talk (we will not dignify it by the name of conversation) continued. As they re-entered the grounds it fell upon the scheme of visiting the church, and during the light and common-place discussion that ensued, it struck Louis that there might be something wrong in the plan. He became very silent, and when he reached his room, quietly thought over the matter, and came to the conclusion that, though they intended going to church, yet the motives that induced their doing so were not to the glory of God, and that to employ servants for such an end, on God's holy day, was certainly wrong. This was his first impression; and when he next saw Reginald, he told him what he had been thinking of.
“Well, but Louis, you know it won't make any difference whether we go or not, and so we shan't engage the servants. I don't see why, because you like nice singing, you should go to the chapel where they screech so abominably.”
Louis was silent, for he hardly liked to oppose his reasons to Reginald's blunt speech, and Reginald, dismissing the subject from his mind, began to talk of something else. He ran on very volubly for a little while, without receiving any interruption from his brother, and, looking at him, he saw very plainly that Louis was not paying the slightest attention to him.
“What is the matter, Louis? How dull you are!”
“Nothing,” replied Louis.