“Come, sit ye down, sit ye down, ladies,” said Mrs Hodges; “there, come into the chimney nook: eh! Deary me! Ye’re quite wet.”
“Yes, Betty,” said Mr Tankardew, “these ladies joined a party to the hills, and, coming back, they’ve been nearly upset into the brook, which is running now like a mill stream; they came in an omnibus, and very nearly stuck fast in the middle; it is a mercy they were not all drowned; no thanks to the driver, though.”
“Poor things,” exclaimed the farmer’s wife; “come, I must help you to some dry things, such as they are: and you must stay here to-night; it is not fit for you to go home, indeed it is not,” she added, as Mrs Franklin prepared to decline.
“I’ll make you as comfortable as ever I can. Jane, go and put a fire in the Red-room.”
“Indeed,” said Mrs Franklin, “I can’t think of allowing you to put yourself to all this trouble; besides, our servants will be alarmed when they find us not returning.”
“Leave that to me, madam,” said Mr Tankardew; “I shall sleep at the ‘Wheatsheaf’ to-night, and will take care to send a trusty messenger over to ‘The Shrubbery’ to tell them how matters stand; and Mr Hodges will, I am sure, drive you over in his gig in the morning. Hark how the rain comes down! You really must stop: Mrs Hodges will make you very comfortable.”
With many thanks, but still with considerable reluctance, Mrs Franklin acquiesced in this arrangement. Their hostess then accommodated them with such garments as they needed, and all assembled round the blazing fire. Mr Tankardew had divested himself of a rough top coat, and, looking like the gentleman he was, begged Mrs Hodges to give them some tea.
What a tea that was! Mary, though delicately brought up, thought she had never tasted anything like it, so delicious and reviving: such ham! Such eggs! Such bread! Such cream! Really, it was almost worth while getting the fright and the wetting to enjoy such a meal with so keen a relish.
“They’ve got a famous distillery in this house,” remarked Mr Tankardew when they had finished their tea.
“A famous what?” asked Mrs Franklin, in great surprise.