amed and sobbed herself into a
pale, quiet, tragic state--lying back in her chair, her face patchy with
crying, her head falling queerly sideways like a broken doll's--till
Joanna, scared and contrite, assured her that she had not meant her
threat seriously, and that Ellen should stop at school as long as she
was a good girl and minded her sister.

This sort of thing had happened every holiday, but there were also
brighter aspects, and on the whole Joanna was proud of her little sister
and pleased with the results of the step she had taken. Ellen could not
only dance and drop beautiful curtsies, but she could play tunes on the
piano, and recite poetry. She could ask for things in French at table,
could give startling information about the Kings of England and the
exports and imports of Jamaica, and above all these accomplishments, she
showed a welcome alacrity to display them, so that her sister could
always rely on her for credit and glory.

"When Martin Trevor comes I'll make her say her piece."

Sec.10

Martin came on Christmas Day. He knew that the feast would lend a
special significance to the visit, but he did not care; for in absence
he had idealized Joanna into a fit subject for flirtation. He had no
longer any wish to meet her on the level footing of friendship--besides,
he was already beginning to feel lonely on the Marsh, to long for the
glow of some romance to warm the fogs that filled his landscape. In
spite of his father's jeers, he was no monk, and generally had some
sentimental adventure keeping his soul alive--but he was fastidious and
rather bizarre in his likings, and since he had come to North Farthing,
no one, either in his own class or out of it, had appealed to him,
except Joanna Godden.

She owed part of her attraction to the surviving salt of his dislike.
There was still a savour of antagonism in his liking of her. Also his
curiosity was still unsatisfied. Was that undercurrent of softness
genuine? Was she really simple and tender under her hard flaunting? Was
she passionate under her ignorance and _naivete_? Only experiment could
show him, and he meant to investigate, not merely for the barren
satisfaction of his curiosity, but for the satisfaction of his manhood
which was bound up with a question.

When he arrived, Joanna was still in church--on Christmas Day as on
other selected festivals, she always "stayed the Sacrament," and did not
come out till nearly one. He went to meet he