"I am weather-bound, Jan," said Lucy. "Mr. Verner was about to get me an umbrella."
"To see if I could get one," corrected Lionel. "I question if the Hooks possess such a commodity."
"Not they," cried Jan. "The girl's rather better," added he unceremoniously. "She may get through it now; at least there's a shade of a chance. You can have my umbrella, Miss Lucy."
"Won't you let me go with you, Jan?" she asked.
"Oh, I can't stop to take you to Deerham Court," was Jan's answer, given with his accustomed plainness. "Here, Lionel!"
He handed over the umbrella, and was walking off.
"Jan, Jan, you will get wet," said Lucy.
It amused Jan. "A wetting more or less is nothing to me," he called out, striding on.
"Will you stay under shelter a few minutes yet, and see whether it abates?" asked Lionel.
Lucy looked up at the skies, stretching her head beyond the trees to do so.