rs would much prefer simple country fare. And then Harry gave
orders to his bailiff that the plumpest chickens and the fattest ducks
were to be sacrificed, and new laid-eggs and cream served ad libitum.

Malcolm always looked back on those two days as the saddest and yet the
most beautiful he had ever known. For what sadness can be equal to that
of being with the person one loves best in the world, and yet being
conscious of a great dividing gulf, that never narrows; and yet in
spite of this, what happiness to know that one roof would cover them
for two days! Malcolm was in that condition when he was thankful for
even fragments and crumbs--a kind smile, an approving word from
Elizabeth made his heart beat more quickly. As for Dinah, she was in
the seventh heaven. The country was lovely, the Priory a beautiful,
picturesque old place, with leaded casements and a deep porch, and a
wonderful neglected garden, a veritable wilderness of sweets. She liked
everything, admired everything; she thought Harry Strickland a
thoroughly nice fellow; and she and Elizabeth wandered all over the
house, suggesting improvements in their practicable, sensible way; and
full of admiration for the fine oak staircase and some really beautiful
cabinets, and benches, on the landing-place and in the best parlours.
Roger Strickland had always called them parlours--the oak parlour and
the cedar parlour--the latter a charming room with a fine ceiling,
cedar-lined panels, and a cosy nook by the fireplace covered with
quaint tapestry. Elizabeth fell in love with this room directly. She
insisted that a certain cabinet she had seen upstairs should be brought
down to the cedar parlour, and that an empty recess should be fitted up
for books; and the young men listened to her quite meekly. Her reforms
and alterations became so sweeping and extensive at last, that Malcolm,
who at first had been only amused, grew seriously alarmed. "We must see
what Mr. Atkins thinks," he kept observing; "we must decide on nothing
without him." Mr. Atkins was the lawyer who had managed all the
Strickland business, and they were to drive into Donnarton that very
afternoon to consult him. Nevertheless, when Malcolm made his little
protest, Elizabeth only shrugged her shoulders and muttered something
about "cautious legal minds" under her breath.

"Good for you, Betty, that we have a lawyer handy," observed Cedric in
high good-humour, "or you would be ruining yourself and Dinah t