"Here," I said. "And you had better put on this—" bringing forward a dust-coat.
"All right," said Paulina; "now some gloves."
She was ready and had taken the reins almost before Miss Cottrell awoke to the fact that her beloved was departing.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked reproachfully.
"I could have gone to the station too; now there is not time, I suppose?"
"No," he said decisively. "I shall only catch the train by the skin of my teeth. Good-bye."
"When will you be back?" she asked, as he stepped into the chaise.
"Oh, in time for dinner," he answered, and off they drove, while Miss Cottrell stood looking blankly after them.
I proposed to her that we should presently walk towards Chelmsford to meet Paulina and return with her in the chaise, but the suggestion was not agreeable to her. She would rather, she said, spend the morning in working on her garden plot. She moved away with so sombre a face that I much feared that she would water her flowers with her tears. The "labour she delighted in" afforded her consolation, for she appeared serene as usual when we met at luncheon and spoke cheerfully of driving into Chelmsford to meet Mr. Dicks.
Meanwhile Paulina had come back, having much enjoyed her drive into town. She invaded my room, apparently bent on teasing me.