'And she has on her best blue, made out of mother's French

farthingale,' cried the discreet Annora.

'Do you know, Dolly, I've orders to box your ears, and send you

in?' added Berenger, as he lifted his half-sister from her perilous

position, speaking, as he did so, without a shade of foreign

accent, though with much more rapid utterance than was usual in

England. She clung to him without much alarm, and retaliated by an

endeavour to box his ears, while Philip, slowly making his way back

to the mainland, exclaimed, 'Ah there's no chance now! Here comes

demure Mistress Lucy, and she is the worst mar-sport of all.'

A gentle girl of seventeen was drawing near, her fair delicately-

tinted complexion suiting well with her pale golden hair. It was a

sweet face, and was well set off by the sky-blue of the

farthingale, which, with her white lace coif and white ruff, gave

her something the air of a speedwell flower, more especially as her

expression seemed to have caught much of Cecily's air of self-

restrained contentment. She held a basketful of the orange pistils

of crocuses, and at once seeing that some riot had taken place, she

said to the eldest little girl, 'Ah, Nan, you had been safer

gathering saffron with me.'

'Nay, brother Berry came and made all well,' said Annora; 'and he

had been shut up so long in the library that he must have been very

glad to get out.'

'And what came of it?' cried Philip. 'Are you to go and get

yourself unmarried?' 'Unmarried!' burst out the sisters Annora and Elizabeth.

'What, laughed Philip, 'you knew not that this is an ancient

husband, married years before your father and mother?'

'But, why? said Elizabeth, rather inclined to cry. 'What has poor

Lucy done that you should get yourself unmarried from her?'

There was a laugh from both brothers; but Berenger, seeing Lucy's

blushes, restrained himself, and said. 'Mine was not such good

luck, Bess, but they gave me a little French wife, younger than

Dolly, and saucier still; and as she seems to wish to be quit of

me, why, I shall be rid of her.'

'See there, Dolly,' said Philip, in a warning voice, 'that is the

way you'll be served if you do not mend your ways.'

'But I thought,' said Annora gravely, 'that people were married

once for all, and it could not be undone.'

'So said Aunt Cecily, but my Lord was proving to her out of all law

that a contract between such a couple of babes went for nought,'

said Berenger.




readonlinefreebook.com Copyright 2016 - 2024