Kit went up the lonning and sitting down in the porch lighted his pipe. Grace had not forgotten; she had given him his real welcome home and he thrilled as he thought about her quiet friendliness. Perhaps the meeting was awkward for her, but she had struck the right note, with the dignified simplicity he had expected. It said something for her pluck that she had met him as if the interview at Ashness, when Osborn had driven him away, had never taken place. All this was comforting, but Kit was vaguely disturbed on her account.
He had noted a hint of anxiety and she had implied that things were not going well for the Osborns. He meant to marry Grace; his longing for her was keener than he had felt it yet, but it was not altogether selfish. She must be removed from surroundings in which she could not thrive. Tarnside, with its rash extravagance, pretense, and stern private economy, was not the place for her. But he felt he must be patient and cautious; there were numerous obstacles in his way.
In the meantime, Grace met Thorn farther along the road and tried to hide her annoyance as he advanced. Perhaps it was the contrast between him and Kit, whose thin, brown face had a half-ascetic look, for Alan was fat and getting coarse. Grace had noted this before, but not so plainly as she did now. His manners were urbane and he belonged to her circle; to some extent, his code was hers and she had his prejudices and tastes. All the same, she did not like him; for one thing, he was a type her father approved, a man of local importance and strictly local ideas, and Osborn had forced her into rebellion. Alan managed the otter hounds well and knew much about farming, but he was satisfied with this. Although he belonged to a smart London club, Grace imagined he only went there because he thought he ought. Yet he was cunning and patient, and knowing why he bore with Osborn, she was sometimes afraid.
"Was that Askew?" he inquired when he turned and went on with her.
Grace said it was and he gave her a careless look.
"I heard he had come back. Might have been better if he had stayed away.
A fellow like that is rather disturbing."
"I don't think he could do much harm, when you and Hayes are on your guard," Grace rejoined.
"That is so," Thorn agreed and she could not tell if he knew she had meant to be ironical. "Anyhow, I don't suppose he wants to do much harm; I was thinking about his example."
"Is it a dangerous example to improve one's land? I thought you advocated scientific farming?"
"So I do. I don't mean that, although I don't know if Askew's farming is scientific or not. One can't judge yet. His independence and habit of taking his own line might be dangerous."