'Promise,' said Serena, 'word of honour.'
Well, she's not a story-teller after all, and she wouldn't break a right-down promise like that, so I thought it was all right.
'We shan't be long,' I said, and off we set, Anne and I, thinking we had managed beautifully.
It was very nice and peaceful outside; Anne is really very jolly when you get her alone and she isn't thinking of some book or other she's reading, and we quite enjoyed the little walk. The church was open as usual, but there was no sound of music yet, only there was a light up in the organ loft, which I was sure showed the lady was coming, though Anne thought it was perhaps only a reflection of the evening light through the window. But I knew by this time that it was always pretty dark up by the organ, except perhaps in the very middle of the day in very bright weather.
We didn't stay in the porch like I'd done at first. I had found a nice little corner just inside, where we could hear beautifully, and yet slip out in a moment, in case any one came and found fault. And there we sat quite happily, and in a minute or two we heard a hum beginning and then some notes, and then the playing started properly. It was beautiful. Anne squeezed my hand, and I felt quite proud of having found it out—like a showman, you know. But 'wait till you hear her singing,' I whispered.
She was still only playing, luckily, when, what do you think happened? The big door behind us was slowly pushed openly, and in walked, as cool as twenty cucumbers, two small figures, giving us—no that was only Serry—a condescending little nod and smile as they slipped into a seat almost alongside ours.
CHAPTER XII
MISS CROSS-AT-FIRST'S FUR CAPE
I couldn't help it, even though it was in church, I felt so boiling. I jumped up and caught hold of Serry's arm and pulled her out into the porch. Poor Maud came too of herself, and when we got outside into the light, I saw that she looked pale and frightened. Then Anne appeared, quite puzzled and dazed, for she'd been all up in the music and had almost forgotten where she was, or if she was anywhere, as she does sometimes.