"It shall not be carried out of the church, but the priest and such others of the communicants as he shall call unto him shall, immediately after the blessing, reverently eat and drink the same."
So it alluded in the rubric of the Book of Common Prayer to the leaving over of consecrated wine. In the mind of the Rev. Samuel, Mr. Windle was that other communicant.
"What shall I do?" he began, directly the devout warden entered.
Mr. Windle was beaming with good nature. He had just been talking to a lady—the last to leave the church—who had told him that he had read the lessons with great feeling; and, while he despised all emotion as sacrilegious in the precincts of God's house of worship, he liked to be thought capable of it.
Seeing the cup in Mr. Bishop's hand and the dismayed expression on that gentleman's countenance, he smiled.
"This has to be—be finished," said the distraught clergyman.
"Ah, I'm sorry about that," replied Mr. Windle, easily. "Under ordinary circumstances, there would have been as many as I said; but I understand that a lot of people attended early Communion at the bishop's service in Maidstone. You see, it is not often that he comes, and they like to have his lordship."
"But this is consecrated wine."
"Ah—well—there's not much, I suppose. Is there?"
Mr. Windle looked casually into the chalice. "Oh, there is a good deal. What are you going to do?"