must want the Bendishes, and perhaps Lawrence's
judgment was a little bribed by her artless compliment, for at
this point he began to think her pretty in an undeveloped way:
certainly she had lovely eyes, dark blue under black lashes,
which reminded him of other eyes that he had seen long ago--but
when? He could not remember those wistful eyes in any other
woman's face.

"I'm making for Wanhope--Major Clowe's house."

"Oh, but then you must be Captain Hyde," exclaimed Miss
Stafford: "aren't you? that Mrs. Clowes was expecting."

"My name is Hyde. No one met me at the station" in spite of
himself Lawrence could not keep his grievance out of his voice
"so, as there are no cabs at Countisford, I had to walk."

"Oh! dear, how sad: and on such a hot day too! You'll be so
tired." Was this satire? Pert little thing! Lawrence was
faintly amused--not irritated, because she was certainly very
pretty: what a swan's throat she had under her holland blouse,
and what a smooth slope of neck! But for all that she ought to
have sirred him.

"So you know Mrs. Clowes, do you?" He said with as much
politeness as a little girl deserves who has lovely eyes and a
dirty face. It had crossed his mind that she might be one of the
servants at Wanhope: he knew next to nothing of the English
labouring classes, but was not without experience of lady's
maids.

"Yes, I know her," said Isabel. She hung on the brink of
introducing herself--was not Captain Hyde coming to tea with her
that afternoon?--but was deterred by a very unusual feeling of
constraint. She was not accustomed to be watched as Hyde was
watching her, and she felt shy and restless, though she knew not
why. It never entered her head that he had taken her for Dorrie
Drury's sister. She was dressed like a servant, but what of
that? In Chilmark she would have remained "Miss Isabel" if she
had gone about in rags, and it would have wounded her bitterly to
learn that she owed the deference of the parish rather to her
rank as the vicar's daughter, who visited at Wanhope and Wharton,
than to any dignity of her own. In all her young life no one had
ever taken a liberty with Isabel. And, for that matter, why
should any one take a liberty with Dorrie Drury's sister?
Isabel's father would not have done so, nor her brothers, nor
indeed Jack Bendish, and she was too ignorant of other men to
know what it was that made her so hot under Hyde's eyes. "But
you'll be late for lunc