ncan Yordas received it well. Being far on toward her futurity in
years, and beyond her whole existence in experience and size, he smiled
at her ardor and short vehemence to please him, and liked to see her
go about, because she turned so lightly. Then the pleasant agility of
thought began to make him turn to answer it; and whenever she had the
best of him in words, her bright eyes fell, as if she had the worst.
"She doesn't even know that she is clever," said the patient to himself,
"and she is the first person I have met with yet who knows which side of
the line Calcutta is."

The manner of those benighted times was to keep from young ladies
important secrets which seemed to be no concern of theirs. Miss Upround
had never been told what brought this visitor to Flamborough, and
although she had plenty of proper curiosity, she never got any reward
for it. Only four Flamburians knew that Sir Duncan was Robin Lyth's
papa--or, as they would put it (having faster hold of the end of the
stick next to them), that Robin Lyth was the son of Sir Duncan. And
those four were, by force of circumstance, Robin Cockscroft and Joan
his wife, the rector and the rectoress. Even Dr. Stirbacks (organically
inquisitive as he was, and ill content to sniff at any bottle with the
cork tied down), by mastery of Mordacks and calm dignity of rector, was
able to suspect a lot of things, but to be sure of none of them; and
suspicion, according to its usual manner, never came near the truth
at all. Miss Upround, therefore, had no idea that if she became Lady
Yordas, which she very sincerely longed to be, she would, by that event,
be made the step-mother of a widely celebrated smuggler; while her
Indian hero, having no idea of her flattering regard as yet, was not
bound to enlighten her upon that point.

At Anerley Farm the like ignorance prevailed; except that Mistress
Anerley, having a quick turn for romance, and liking to get her
predictions confirmed, recalled to her mind (and recited to her husband
in far stronger language) what she had said, in the clover-blossom
time, to the bravest man that ever lived, the lamented Captain
Carroway. Captain Carroway's dauntless end, so thoroughly befitting his
extraordinary exploits, for which she even had his own authority, made
it the clearest thing in all the world that every word she said to
him must turn out Bible-true. And she had begged him--and one might
be certain that he had told it, as a good man