“I don’t know what she means by a warning,” said Alice.
“Nor I, darling, I am sure; perhaps she has had a winding-sheet on her candle, or a coffin flew out of the fire, or a death-watch ticked in the wainscot,” he answered.
“A warning, what could she mean?” repeated Alice, slowly, with an anxious gaze in his eyes.
“My darling, how can you? A stupid old woman!” said he a little impatiently, “and thoroughly ill-conditioned. She’s in one of her tempers, just because we laughed, and fancied it was at her; and there’s nothing she’d like better than to frighten you, if she could. I’ll pack her off, if I find her playing any tricks.”
“Oh, the poor old thing, not for the world; she’ll make it up with me, you’ll find; I don’t blame her the least, if she thought that, and I’ll tell her we never thought of such a thing.”
“Don’t mind her, she’s not worth it—we’ll just make out a list of the things that we want; I’m afraid we want a great deal more than we can get, for you have married a fellow, in all things but love, as poor as a church mouse.”
He laughed, and kissed her, and patted her smiling cheek.
“Yes, it will be such fun buying these things; such a funny little dinner service, and breakfast things, and how far away is Naunton?”
“I’m not so sure we can get them at Naunton. Things come from London so easily now,” said he.
“Oh, but there is such a nice little shop, I remarked it in Naunton,” said she, eagerly.