"But, my liege," persisted Jack Straw, "let the council consider the danger of the delay. I have reason to know, that those you reckon upon to oppose an entrance here are not to be trusted: the prophet has worked wonders, even within the fortress.""Go away," she said, "we can't let you in."
ONE: "You must not think, my dearest lad, that anything what you have done can separate you and me. We belong to each other as it seems, and what you have done I forgive as you would if I had done it. I shall always be yours, Robby, no matter how long you are in prison, I shall be waiting, and thinking of you always. And I forgive you for not telling me you had taken the money, but that a friend had lent it to you, because you thought I would not have gone away with you, but I would have, surely. Be brave and do not fret. I wish it was all over, but we must not fret.
TWO:Yet Mrs. Backfield did not, any more than Naomi, understand Reuben's great ambition."Well, why shouldn't he see my legs? They're unaccountable nice ones."
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ONE:"Why not? There's naun shameful in it. Munds's brother did it for twenty years. And think of the difference it'll m?ake to usthirty pound or so a year, instead of the dead loss of Harry's keep and the wages of an extra man beside. I tell you, mother, I wur fair sick about the farm till I thought of this."
TWO:While o'er our hard-earned pence they gloat?
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ONE:"You can quite easy, surelye. M?aster's going to Cranbrook Fair, and w?an't be home till l?ate. It's the last night, remember."
TWO:She murmured it over and over again as he kissed her, and she clung to him like a child. There was something about her words and about herself as she quivered in his arms that touched him inexpressibly. He swore that he loved her, and forgot all about the woman in Wish Ward.
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TWO:
FORE:Reuben on his side thought Realf a fool. He despised him for failing to lift Grandturzel out of adversity, as he had lifted Odiam. He would not have kept him on[Pg 425] as bailiff if he had thought there would have otherwise been any chance of his accepting Odiam's terms. He disliked seeing him about the place, and did not findas the neighbourhood pictured he mustany satisfaction in watching his once triumphant rival humbly performing the duties of a servant on the farm that used to be his own. Reuben's hatreds were not personal, they were merely a question of roods and acres, and when that side of them was appeased, nothing remained. They were, like almost everything else of his, a question of agriculture, and having now settled Realf agriculturally he had no grudge against him personally.
FORE:The funeral was dignified and impressive, and every now and then Reuben glanced across at his son with eyes that said"Wot could Ebenezer have done compared wud this?" All the same, he was disappointed. Somehow he had expected his churchmanship to strike the rector and the curate very favourably; he had expected them metaphorically to fall on his neck; he saw himself as a champion of established Christendom, of tithes and glebes and cosy rectories and "dearly beloved brethren" on Sundays. It was humiliating to find himself ignored, indeed treated as an outsider, simply because he had not been to church for ten years. He had had his children baptised into the Establishment, and now he was burying his son according to its rites, in spite of opposition, even persecution. These parsons were ungrateful, bigoted, and blind."Yesleastways four of 'em do. Two havehave left home."
FORE:At last Robert decided to lead out Emily Ditch, thinking that it might lull his father's suspicions if he had any. As a matter of fact the son Reuben watched most closely was Albert. He looked upon Robert's affair as settled, for the present at any rate, and credited himperhaps rightlywith so poor a cunning that an occasional glance would serve; whereas Albert's oiled hair, stiff shirt-front, and clean white handkerchief roused all his fears and carefulness together.
FORE:I sing a Gatea novel subject quite."Send forth the hue and cry," said De Boteler. "Scour the country till the knave be found, and promise a noble to him who discovers the runaway."
FORE:"Have you heard the news, Wat?" asked the mason.
FORE:When his failure to buy the crest became known there were great rejoicings throughout Peasmarsh. The Fair that year was more than usually crowded, and the merriment was increased by the sight of Reuben stalking among the booths, and glaring at them as if he wished them all at blazes.
FORE:"Hold, master," said he, "you will find it difficult to fill Beauchamp's seat, without making another vacancy.""There's Harry!"
FORE:He bent towards her and his lips closed on hers. She nearly fainted, but she did not struggle or try to scream. It seemed years that they stood linked by that unwilling kiss. At last he raised his head.
TWO:"True, true, I will see to himhe shall answer for what he has donebut now Calverley, tell me honestly, for you are not wont to be familiar even with your fellowstell me what you saw in this maiden that could make you wish to rival Stephen Holgrave?"
TWO:"I think she said her name was Holgrave," replied the lady in a cold tone. "But indeed, my lord baron, you seem to be wondrously well acquainted with the faces and the handywork of your vassals' wives!"
"My Lord de Boteler, and you noble sir, and fair damesit may seem strange that an old woman like me should speak for a man of my son's years; but, in truth, he is better able to defend himself with his arm than his tongue.""Oh, landscapes mostly. That's mine"and she pointed to a little water-colour sketch of a barn.Chapter 11