“Oh, I’m just in my ordinary’,” said Rankin, “naething to brag of, but naething to find fault with either—just warstling on as pleases the Lord, and I dinna complain. Give the leddy a chair, Janet woman, and just go ben the house yoursel, and bring me particular word what the thermometer was last night. You can take a pencil and a bit of paper and write it down, for I’m very particular to have the figures exact.”
“Oh, you needna make any of your fuil’s errands for me,” said Janet. “I ken what you mean weel enough,” and the brisk little wife went away, carefully shutting the door behind her. What did he mean? Evelyn grew a little alarmed in spite of herself.
“I hear, mem,” said Rankin, confidentially leaning towards her out of his bed, “that you’re in some trouble at the Hoose?”
“You hear—that we’re in trouble!” cried Evelyn in the last astonishment. “If we are,” she said, “which I don’t allow, you would not expect me to come and speak of it to you.”
“Wherefore no?” said Rankin. “Do you think, madam, that because I’m held fast here, I’m no a man with sympathies, and a heart to feel for my neebours? You’ll maybe think I’m taking too much upon me, calling the like of you my neebours. But it was One greater than any of us that did that. We’re a’ neebours in the sight of God.”
“That is quite true, no doubt,” said Evelyn, with a gleam of faint amusement in the midst of her trouble, “but I don’t know—”
“Madam,” said Rankin, “I would take it very ill if ye kent something to my advantage or that would maybe save a heart-break, and keepit it to yoursel’.”
“I hope I would not do so in any circumstance,” said Evelyn.
“I think you wad not, and therefore I’m fain to speak. I’m a real observant person, and given to muckle study of my fellow-creatures. I’ve taken a great notion of you, Mistress Rowland. My opinion is that you’re no the stepmother familiar to us in fiction, but a person with a real good meaning towards your good gentleman and all belonging to him.”
“I hope so,” said Evelyn, half-amused, half-disturbed, by this strange address.