When the carriage had driven on, and the Captain found himself alone with Miss Douglas, all the weight of the errand upon which he had come returned upon him. He had tried to forget it for a time; he could not forget it now. She was so bright and cheerful, so anxious to point out to him all the beauties of the scenery through which they were passing, and to make the walk as pleasant to him as she possibly could, that he felt sick at heart when he remembered that his visit would bring a heavy cloud over her life, and drive the sunshine from her face. Why had his father asked him to do this thing?
They were passing through the narrowest part of Borrowdale, where the steep hills confront each other closely in all their rugged beauty. At the bottom of the gorge the river was rushing madly over its rocky bed; overhead towered the mighty Castle Crag, guarding the narrow pass. Every kind of beauty of rock and wood and river, of mossy bank and fern-covered glade, seemed crowded together in that lovely spot.
"What do you think of it, Mr. Fortescue?"
"Glorious!" he said. "How delightful to live amongst it all!"
"Isn't it?" she said. "I don't think I could bear to live in a dirty, smoky town after this. Do you see that great stone above us on the hill—the Bowder Stone it is called. People always go and look at it; but I don't know that there's much to see."
Kenneth did not answer her; the burden of his message was becoming more than he could bear. A sudden thought crossed his mind. Should he tell her why he had come? Perhaps, if he did so, she would help him to think of the best way to tell her mother.
"Miss Douglas," he said, "I suppose you have been wondering why I am going to see your mother?"
"Woman's curiosity, I expect you think! Well, you men are just as curious sometimes. Yes, I did wonder rather what it was about," she said, laughing.
"May I tell you," he answered, so gravely and seriously that her laugh died away, and a look of anxiety came into her face.
"Yes, tell me," she said quietly. "Not bad news, I hope?"