Winefred and her father had not been gone many minutes from the house before the house-door bell was again rung, this time with no accompanying rap.
The maid soon after came to announce that a young man from near Axmouth was below, waiting, and had brought a hamper for Mrs. Tomkin-Jones from Mrs. Jose of Bindon.
'We cannot receive him in the drawing-room,' said the widow. 'Jane, show him into the dining apartment.' Then to her daughter: 'I suppose I must give him a shilling. Have you any change, Sylvana?'
'Upstairs, mamma.'
'Well, bring it to me below. I must thank him for his trouble and inquire after Mrs. Jose, and offer him a glass of ale.'
'Do you think a shilling sufficient remuneration, mamma?'
'Humph! Half-a-crown is a good deal of money. It makes a sensible hole in a sovereign. We are not supposed to know, my dear, what the basket contains—possibly only watercress, and for that a shilling would be ample.' Then to the servant who tarried: 'Jane!'
'Yes, ma'am.'
'What has the young man brought? Did he intimate to you what was the contents of the hamper?'