orchids and new books continued as usual between
the Hall and the cottage, and for many weeks nothing extraordinary
occurred. Mrs. Ambrose and Mrs. Goddard met frequently, and the only
difference to be observed in the manner of the former was that she
mentioned John Short very often, and every time she mentioned him she
fixed her grey eyes sternly upon Mrs. Goddard, who however did not notice
the scrutiny, or, if she did, was not in the least disturbed by it. For a
long time Mrs. Ambrose entertained a feeble intention of addressing Mrs.
Goddard directly upon the subject of John's affections, but the longer
she put off doing so, the harder it seemed to do it. Mrs. Ambrose had
great faith in the sternness of her eye under certain circumstances, and
seeing that Mrs. Goddard never winced, she gradually fell into the belief
that John had been the more to blame, if there was any blame in the
matter. She had indeed succeeded in the first instance, by methods of her
own which have been heretofore detailed, in extracting a sort of
reluctant admission from her husband; but since that day he had proved
obdurate to all entreaty. Once only he had said with considerable
impatience that John was a very silly boy, and was much better engaged
with his books at college than in running after Mrs. Goddard. That was
all, and gradually as the regular and methodical life at the vicarage
effaced the memory of the doings at Christmas time, the good Mrs.
Ambrose forgot that anything unpleasant had ever occurred. There was no
disturbance of the existing relations and everything went on as before
for many weeks. The February thaw set in early and the March winds began
to blow before February was fairly out. Nat Barker the octogenarian
cripple, who had the reputation of being a weather prophet, was
understood to have said that the spring was "loike to be forrard t'year,"
and the minds of the younger inhabitants were considerably relieved. Not
that Nat Barker's prophecies were usually fulfilled; no one ever
remembered them at the time when they might have been verified. But they
were always made at the season when people had nothing to do but to talk
about them. Mr. Thomas Reid, the conservative sexton, turned up his nose
at them, and said he "wished Nat Barker had to dig a parish depth grave
in three hours without a drop of nothin' to wet his pipe with, and if he
didden fine that groun' oncommon owdacious Thomas Reid he didden know.
They didden know