"Yes, and you've only begun," said Sinclair. "To-morrow, when you get
further into the heart of it, you'll surrender to its charm as we all
do."

"I'm sure I shall," agreed Patty, "and, indeed, I think I have already
done so."

CHAPTER XIII

CROMARTY MANOR

Life at Cromarty Manor was very pleasant indeed.

Although Patty had not definitely realised it, she was thoroughly tired
out by her London gaieties, and the peaceful quiet of the country brought
her a rest that she truly needed.

Also, the Hartleys were a delightful family to visit. There is quite as
much hospitality in knowing when to leave guests to themselves as there
is in continually entertaining them.

And while the Hartleys planned many pleasures for Patty, yet there were
also hours in the morning or early afternoon, when she was free to follow
her own sweet will.

Sometimes she would roam around the historic old house, pausing here and
there in some of the silent, unused rooms, to imagine romances of days
gone by.

Sometimes she would stroll out-of-doors, through the orchards and woods,
by ravines and brooks, always discovering some new and beautiful vista or
bit of scenery.

And often she would spend a morning, lying in a hammock beneath the old
trees, reading a book, or merely day-dreaming, as she watched the
sunlight play hide-and-seek among the leaves above her head.

One morning, after she had been at Cromarty Manor for about a week, Patty
betook herself to her favourite hammock, carrying with her a book of
Fairy Tales, for which she had never outgrown her childish fondness.

But the book remained unopened, for Patty's mind was full of busy
thoughts.

She looked around at the beautiful landscape which, as far as the eye
could reach included only the land belonging to the Cromarty estate.
There were more than a thousand acres in all, much of which was
cultivated ground, and the rest woodland or rolling meadows. Patty looked
at the dark woods in the distance; the orchards nearer by; and, in her
immediate vicinity, the beautiful gardens and terraces.

The latter, of which there were two, known as the Upper and Lower
Terrace, were two hundred feet long and were separated by a sloping bank
of green lawn, dotted with round flower beds.

[Illustration: "Often she would spend a morning lying in a hammock
beneath the old trees"]

Above the terraces rose the old house itself. The Manor was built of a
grayish stone, and was of Eli