Volume I Part 11 (1/2)
”How do you do, Mr. Mason?”
The young man drew himself together with a start. Suddenly he perceived that the young girl standing in the shade of the porch was not his sister, but a stranger. He looked at her with astonishment,--at the elegance of her dress, and the neatness of her small gloved hand.
”I beg your pardon, Miss, I'm sure! Did you want anything?”
The visitor laughed. ”Yes, I want a good deal! I came up to see my cousins--you're my cousin--though of course you don't remember me. I thought--perhaps--you'd ask me to dinner.”
The young man's yawns ceased. He stared with all his eyes, instinctively putting his hair and collar straight.
”Well, I'm afraid I don't know who you are, Miss,” he said at last, putting out his hand in perplexity to meet hers. ”Will you walk in?”
”Not before you know who I am!”--said Laura, still laughing--”I'm Laura Fountain. Now do you know?”
”What--Stephen Fountain's daughter--as married Miss Helbeck?” said the young man in wonder. His face, which had been at first vague and heavy with sleep, began to recover its natural expression.
Laura surveyed him. He had a square, full chin and an upper lip slightly underhung. His straight fair hair straggled loose over his brow. He carried his head and shoulders well, and was altogether a finely built, rather magnificent young fellow, marred by a general expression that was half clumsy, half insolent.
”That's it,” she said, in answer to his question--”I'm staying at Bannisdale, and I came up to see you all.--Where's Cousin Elizabeth?”
”Mother, do you mean?--Oh! she's at church.”
”Why aren't you there, too?”
He opened his blue eyes, taken aback by the cool clearness of her voice.
”Well, I can't abide the parson--if you want to know. Shall I put up your pony?”
”But perhaps you've not had your sleep out?” said Laura, politely interrogative.
He reddened, and came forward with a slow and rather shambling gait.
”I don't know what else there is to do up here of a Sunday morning,” he said, with a boyish sulkiness, as he began to lead the pony towards the stables opposite. ”Besides, I was up half the night seeing to one of the cows.”
”You don't seem to have many neighbours,” said Laura, as she walked beside him.
”There's rooks and crows” (which he p.r.o.nounced broadly--”craws”)--”not much else, I can tell you. Shall I take the pony out?”
”Please. I'm afraid you'll have to put up with me for hours!”
She looked at him merrily, and he returned the scrutiny. She wore the same thin black dress in which Helbeck had admired her the day before, and above it a cloth jacket and cap, trimmed with brown fur. Mason was dazzled a moment by the milky whiteness of the cheek above the fur, by the brightness of the eyes and hair; then was seized with fresh shyness, and became extremely busy with the pony.
”Mother'll be back in about an hour,” he said gruffly.
”Goodness! what'll you do with me till then?”
They both laughed, he with an embarra.s.sment that annoyed him. He was not at all accustomed to find himself at a disadvantage with a good-looking girl.
”There's a good fire in the house, anyway,” he said; ”you'll want to warm yourself, I should think, after driving up here.”
”Oh! I'm not cold--I say, what jolly horses!”