Time was speeding on; it was now the middle of August,--if anything
was to be done to the house, it must be done at once. Indeed, in
several ways Mr. Gibson's arrangements with Miss Browning had not
been made too soon. The squire had heard that Osborne might probably
return home for a few days before going abroad; and, though the
growing intimacy between Roger and Molly did not alarm him in the
least, yet he was possessed by a very hearty panic lest the heir
might take a fancy to the surgeon's daughter; and he was in such a
fidget for her to leave the house before Osborne came home, that his
wife lived in constant terror lest he should make it too obvious to
their visitor.
Every young girl of seventeen or so, who is at all thoughtful, is
very apt to make a Pope out of the first person who presents to
her a new or larger system of duty than that by which she has been
unconsciously guided hitherto. Such a Pope was Roger to Molly; she
looked to his opinion, to his authority on almost every subject, yet
he had only said one or two things in a terse manner which gave them
the force of precepts--stable guides to her conduct--and had shown
the natural superiority in wisdom and knowledge which is sure to
exist between a highly educated young man of no common intelligence,
and an ignorant girl of seventeen, who yet was well capable of
appreciation. Still, although they were drawn together in this very
pleasant relationship, each was imagining some one very different for
the future owner of their whole heart--their highest and completest
love. Roger looked to find a grand woman, his equal, and his empress;
beautiful in person, serene in wisdom, ready for counsel, as was
Egeria. Molly's little wavering maiden fancy dwelt on the unseen
Osborne, who was now a troubadour, and now a knight, such as he wrote
about in one of his own poems; some one like Osborne, perhaps, rather
than Osborne himself, for she shrank from giving a personal form
and name to the hero that was to be. The squire was not unwise in
wishing her well out of the house before Osborne came home, if he was
considering her peace of mind. Yet, when she went away from the hall
he missed her constantly; it had been so pleasant to have her there
fulfilling all the pretty offices of a daughter; cheering the meals,
so often tête-à-tête betwixt him and Roger, with her innocent wise
questions, her lively interest in their talk, her merry replies to
his banter.