rations of
welcome. A little contraction of the brow, a little compression of the
lips, an increased pallor on Ellinor's part, was all that Miss Monro
could see in her, though she had put on her glasses with foresight and
intention to observe. She turned to the canon; his colour had certainly
deepened as he went forwards with out-stretched hand to meet Ellinor.
That was all that was to be seen; but on the slight foundation of that
blush, Miss Monro built many castles; and when they faded away, one after
one, she recognised that they were only baseless visions. She used to
put the disappointment of her hopes down to Ellinor's unvaried calmness
of demeanour, which might be taken for coldness of disposition; and to
her steady refusal to allow Miss Monro to invite Canon Livingstone to the
small teas they were in the habit of occasionally giving. Yet he
persevered in his calls; about once every fortnight he came, and would
sit an hour or more, looking covertly at his watch, as if as Miss Monro
shrewdly observed to herself, he did not go away at last because he
wished to do so, but because he ought. Sometimes Ellinor was present,
sometimes she was away; in this latter case Miss Monro thought she could
detect a certain wistful watching of the door every time a noise was
heard outside the room. He always avoided any reference to former days
at Hamley, and that, Miss Monro feared, was a bad sign.

After this long uniformity of years without any event closely touching on
Ellinor's own individual life, with the one great exception of Mr.
Corbet's marriage, something happened which much affected her. Mr. Ness
died suddenly at his parsonage, and Ellinor learnt it first from Mr.
Brown, a clergyman, whose living was near Hamley, and who had been sent
for by the Parsonage servants as soon as they discovered that it was not
sleep, but death, that made their master so late in rising.

Mr. Brown had been appointed executer by his late friend, and wrote to
tell Ellinor that after a few legacies were paid, she was to have a life-
interest in the remainder of the small property which Mr. Ness had left,
and that it would be necessary for her, as the residuary legatee, to come
to Hamley Parsonage as soon as convenient, to decide upon certain courses
of action with regard to furniture, books, &c.

Ellinor shrank from this journey, which her love and duty towards her
dead friend rendered necessary. She had scarcely left East Chester sin