" He raised his hat, and divining that she wished him to
let her get over the stile unassisted, he mounted his horse and rode
swiftly away.
"I am sure he would have given me a ride if you had gone by the road,
auntie," said Cecil, reproachfully.
"I could not have allowed, you, dear; so do not think about it."
Errington meanwhile rode on, unconsciously slackening his pace as he
mused. "No, she certainly has never seen me before, yet she knows me.
How? She was very glad to get rid of me just now. Why? I am inoffensive
enough. There is something uncommon about her; she gives me the idea of
having a history, which is anything but desirable for a young woman.
What fine eyes she has! She is something like that Sibyl of Guercino's
in the Capitol. Why does she object to me? It is rather absurd. I must
make her talk, then I shall find out."
Here his horse started, and broke the thread of his reflections. By the
time the steed had pranced and curvetted a little, Errington's thoughts
had turned into some of their usual graver channels, and Katherine
Liddell was--well, not absolutely forgotten.
The object of his reflections reached the house rather late for the
boys' tea, and expecting to find her hostess and Lady Alice enjoying the
same refreshment, she gave her warm out-door jacket to Cecil, who
immediately put it on as the best mode of taking it upstairs, and went
into Mrs.
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