"You're welcome home, sir.
God bless you! You've been missed more than any of us thought of when
you went away. You're needed here, sir, more than you think of."
"Nothing has gone very wrong, I hope," said the rector, smiling. He had
faithfully done his best to provide a good substitute in "Warden, but it
was not in human nature not to feel pleased that no one could manage his
parish as well as himself.
"No, no, sir," replied the station-master, "nothing but what you'll put
right again at once by being at home yourself. No, there's nothing very
wrong, I may say. Upton meant to give you a welcome home to-morrow, with
arches of flowers and music. They'll be disappointed you arrived to-day,
I know."
David Chantrey laughed, thinking of the welcome they had given him when
he brought Sophy home as his young wife. His heart felt a new tenderness
for her, and a throb of impatience to find her. He bade a hasty
good-evening to the station-master, and walked off buoyantly toward the
High street, along which his path lay. The station-master and the
ticket-clerk watched him, and shook their heads significantly; but he
was quite unconscious of their scrutiny.
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