Edith sprang to her feet as though she had been stung; but instantly she recollected herself, and sank down into her hiding-place.
Mrs. Haldane tore herself from the arms that encircled her, and fronted the vicar with a flushed, angry face.
“Are you mad, Mr. Santley?” she asked indignantly. “Allow me to pass at once.”
He stood aside trembling, white, and speechless; and she swept by him and hurried back through the wood.
The vicar looked after her, but stood as if rooted to the spot; while Edith, heedless of the hard stones and her naked feet, ran down wildly to the stepping-stones.
He turned as she approached, and there, with the water whirling between them, she confronted him like his outraged conscience.