“Has he been with you a long time?”
“He and his mother have been in my service for a long time. I think Mrs. Mercer is of a jealous disposition. She never wishes me to have any one here, but she is very faithful and loyal.”
“I wonder if that is the case,” thought Paul. The housekeeper did not seem to him like one who would be unselfishly devoted to the service of any one.
Several days passed. Every day Mrs. Granville rode out, sometimes in the forenoon, sometimes in the afternoon, and the effect was perceptible in her improved health and spirits.
“It is fortunate for me that you came here,” she said one day. “Before you came I rode out only once or twice a week. It seems to do me great good to drive every day.”
“Why did you not go out every day, Mrs. Granville?” asked Paul.
“Frost did not seem to like the trouble of going out with me,” she answered. “He often sent word that he was at work, and could not go conveniently.”
Paul wondered whether he was engaged smoking in the barn. In his guess he came near the truth.
“Besides,” added the old lady, “I did not like to ride out with him as well as with you.”
Paul thanked her for the compliment.