The girl stared at her with open lips and widely extended eyes. "Yes, yes," she uttered at last, with a sort of gasp, "it is! it is! I have heard before that Grannie Bunce has been known to have dealings with the Evil One."
"Now, Gillian, do not be such a foolish wench. Poor old Grannie Bunce has had trouble enough—"
"But—but—she was seen in the park looking up at these windows only—" but there the girl stopped and shuddered.
"Now, Gillian, go and see if my brother is ready to receive me this morning, and you shall help me to walk to his room," interrupted the young lady, for she did not want to encourage this notion about the old woman being a witch because she was poor and often cross.
Miles was still obliged to lie down, but he was comparatively well now, and glad enough to see his sister and have a chat with her, for there were several questions he wanted to ask her about the alterations that had been made on the estate during his absence.
But before he could say a word Margery exclaimed, as soon as her maid had closed the door, "That misguided wench thinks there is witchcraft abroad, Miles."
Her brother looked at her for a minute as though he was pondering the question, and then said slowly, "That must be it."
"Miles, you know I fell downstairs and hurt my back years ago; the only witchcraft about that was that I must have been wilful and disobedient," exclaimed his sister.
"I was not thinking about you, Margery. No one would lay their spells upon you, little sister," and he tenderly kissed the white hand that he held in his own. "No, no; it was of my father and John I was thinking. How is it there have been such changes here in the old home of late?"
"Changes? Of course there had to be changes when John married. We are not so very rich, my father says, and so he was glad when the lease was out of Farmer Rankin's holding, and he could take it for himself and put sheep upon it, for wool sells well now, and—"