"Lethbridge!" said Miss Morris thoughtfully. "I don't think I know the name."
"No, miss. They come from a distance. The man was groom in some gentleman's stables, I hear."
"Has he work in the village, then?" in interested tones.
"Mr. Talbot at the Hall has engaged him as under stableman. The wife's a sickly-looking, pale-faced poor body; but there are two sturdy boys, a little girl and a baby. I went across last night to see if there was anything I could do for them, but Mrs. Lethbridge didn't ask me in," she added in slightly aggrieved accents.
"Perhaps she wants to get her new home in good order before seeing strangers," suggested Miss Morris, smiling, for she guessed Mrs. Mugford would have liked to have found out more about her neighbours.
"Yes, miss, I daresay. I'm glad to see Rose Cottage inhabited, anyway. I think an unoccupied house looks so depressing. What else can I do for you, miss?"
"That's all I want to-day, thank you, Mrs. Mugford; good afternoon."
With a nod and a smile, Miss Morris stepped into the street again, just as the door of Rose Cottage opened, and a pale-faced woman came out with a baby in her arms, and a little girl of about eight years old at her side. The woman looked weary, but as she glanced at the vicar's daughter, an expression of interest crossed her face. Acting on the impulse of the moment, Marian went across the road.
"Good morning," she said brightly. "You are Mrs. Lethbridge, are you not? I am Marian Morris, the vicar's daughter, and I have now heard that you have come to live in our village. I hope you will soon feel at home. I always think Rose Cottage so very pretty."
"Yes, miss," with a slight flush, and a somewhat timid smile.