He said nothing, however; the customary good-nights were said, and the curate and Mary were left alone.
Half-an-hour later, Dally and the homely cook were summoned, the lesson and prayers road, and after the closing of a door or two the Rectory became very still.
“I’ll just look round, dear, and then carry you up; or shall I take you first?”
“No, Hartley, dear,” said Mary; “go first. Perhaps I may have something to say.”
“No fresh trouble, I hope,” thought Salis, who remained ignorant that his sister intended a few words of reproach concerning Mrs Berens, for as he stepped into the hall, and stooped to slip the bolt, something white, which seemed to have been slipped under the door, caught his eye.
“Circulars here in Duke’s Hampton!” he said, picking up an envelope, and seeing that it was addressed to him.
“Here, Mary,” he said, as he returned; “some one wants us to lay in a stock of coals, and—”
He stopped short, and uttered quite a gasp.
“Hartley! Is anything wrong?”
He hesitated a moment, and then handed the letter to his sister.