"One thing I must show you," she said, suddenly, "and that is the orchid-house! Are you fond of orchids?"
"Under certain circumstances," I said, unguardedly, "I could be fond of apple-cores." As soon as I had spoken these words I would have been glad to recall them, but they seemed to make no impression whatever on her.
We walked to the orchid-house, we went through it, and she explained all its beauties, its singularities, and its rarities. When we came out again, I asked myself: "Is she in the habit of doing all this to chance visitors? Would she treat a Brown or a Robinson in the way she is treating me?" I could not answer my question, but if Brown and Robinson had appeared at that moment I should have been glad to knock their heads together.
I did not want to go; I would have been glad to examine every building on the place, but I knew I must depart; and as I was beginning to express my sense of the kindness with which I had been treated, she interrupted by asking me if I expected to come back this way.
"No," said I, "that is not my plan. I expect to ride on to Waterton, and there I shall stop for a day or two and decide what section of the country I shall explore next."
"And to-day?" she said. "Where have you planned to spend the night?"
"I have been recommended to stop at a little inn called the 'Holly Sprig,'" I replied. "It is a leisurely day's journey from Walford, and I have been told that it is a pleasant place and a pretty country. I do not care to travel all the time, and I want to stop a little when I find interesting scenery."
'As Soon As I Had Spoken These Words'