"Shall you go on with your sketch to-morrow?" asked Dudley, as they walked up to the road.
"To-morrow? No; my cousin is going to take me to St Rules."
"I thought Miss Simpson was your aunt?"
"No, she is my father's cousin—one of the very few relatives I have."
Dudley was relieved, he scarcely knew why.
"I might have known my old lady was not likely to know much about any one in the village," he thought.
"Have you never been to St Rules?" he said aloud. "That is a treat in store. Almost every stone in it has a history. But I have an appointment now with my aunt in Kirkstoun—I hate saying good-bye, don't you?"
"I do."
"I mean quite apart from the parting involved."
"Oh, quite!"