It was breakfast time. + 

As seen from the vicarage dining-room, which took a warm tone of light from the fire, the weather and scene outside seemed to have stereotyped themselves in unrelieved shades of gray. The long-armed trees and shrubs of juniper, cedar, and pine varieties, were grayish-black; those of the broad-leaved sort, together with the herbage, were grayish-green; the eternal hills and tower behind them were grayish-brown; the sky, dropping behind all, gray of the purest melancholy. + 

Yet in spite of this sombre artistic effect, the morning was not one which tended to lower the spirits. It was even cheering. For it did not rain, nor was rain likely to fall for many days to come. + 

Elfride had turned from the table towards the fire and was idly elevating a hand-screen before her face, when she heard the click of a little gate outside. + 

вАЬAh, hereвАЩs the postman!вАЭ she said, as a shuffling, active man came through an opening in the shrubbery and across the lawn. She vanished, and met him in the porch, afterwards coming in with her hands behind her back. + 

вАЬHow many are there? Three for papa, one for Mr.¬†Smith, none for Miss Swancourt. And, papa, look here, one of yours is fromвБ†вАФwhom do you think?вБ†вАФLord Luxellian. And it has something hard in itвБ†вАФa lump of something. IвАЩve been feeling it through the envelope, and canвАЩt think what it is.вАЭ + 

вАЬWhat does Luxellian write for, I wonder?вАЭ Mr.¬†Swancourt had said simultaneously with her words. He handed Stephen his letter, and took his own, putting on his countenance a higher class of look than was customary, as became a poor gentleman who was going to read a letter from a peer. + 

Stephen read his missive with a countenance quite the reverse of the vicarвАЩs. + 

Dear SmithвБ†вАФOld H. is in a towering rage with you for being so long about the church sketches. Swears you are more trouble than you are worth. He says I am to write and say you are to stay no longer on any considerationвБ†вАФthat he would have done it all in three hours very easily. I told him that you were not like an experienced hand, which he seemed to forget, but it did not make much difference. However, between you and me privately, if I were you I would not alarm myself for a day or so, if I were not inclined to return. I would make out the week and finish my spree. He will blow up just as much if you appear here on Saturday as if you keep away till Monday morning.вБ†вАФYours very truly, + 

вАЬDear meвБ†вАФvery awkward!вАЭ said Stephen, rather en lвАЩair, and confused with the kind of confusion that assails an understrapper when he has been enlarged by accident to the dimensions of a superior, and is somewhat rudely pared down to his original size. + 

вАЬWhat is awkward?вАЭ said Miss Swancourt. + 

Smith by this time recovered his equanimity, and with it the professional dignity of an experienced architect. + 

вАЬImportant business demands my immediate presence in London, I regret to say,вАЭ he replied. + 

вАЬWhat! Must you go at once?вАЭ said Mr.¬†Swancourt, looking over the edge of his letter. вАЬImportant business? A young fellow like you to have important business!вАЭ + 

вАЬThe truth is,вАЭ said Stephen blushing, and rather ashamed of having pretended even so slightly to a consequence which did not belong to himвБ†вАФвАЬthe truth is, Mr.¬†Hewby has sent to say I am to come home; and I must obey him.вАЭ + 

вАЬI see; I see. It is politic to do so, you mean. Now I can see more than you think. You are to be his partner. I booked you for that directly I read his letter to me the other day, and the way he spoke of you. He thinks a great deal of you, Mr.¬†Smith, or he wouldnвАЩt be so anxious for your return.вАЭ + 

Unpleasant to Stephen such remarks as these could not sound; to have the expectancy of partnership with one of the largest-practising architects in London thrust upon him was cheering, however untenable he felt the idea to be. He saw that, whatever Mr.¬†Hewby might think, Mr.¬†Swancourt certainly thought much of him to entertain such an idea on such slender ground as to be absolutely no ground at all. And then, unaccountably, his speaking face exhibited a cloud of sadness, which a reflection on the remoteness of any such contingency could hardly have sufficed to cause. + 

Elfride was struck with that look of his; even Mr.¬†Swancourt noticed it. + 

вАЬWell,вАЭ he said cheerfully, вАЬnever mind that now. You must come again on your own account; not on business. Come to see me as a visitor, you knowвБ†вАФsay, in your holidaysвБ†вАФall you town men have holidays like schoolboys. When are they?вАЭ + 

вАЬIn August, I believe.вАЭ + 

вАЬVery well; come in August; and then you need not hurry away so. I am glad to get somebody decent to talk to, or at, in this outlandish ultima Thule. But, by the by, I have something to sayвБ†вАФyou wonвАЩt go today?вАЭ + 

вАЬNo; I need not,вАЭ said Stephen hesitatingly. вАЬI am not obliged to get back before Monday morning.вАЭ + 

вАЬVery well, then, that brings me to what I am going to propose. This is a letter from Lord Luxellian. I think you heard me speak of him as the resident landowner in this district, and patron of this living?вАЭ + 

вАЬIвБ†вАФknow of him.вАЭ + 

вАЬHe is in London now. It seems that he has run up on business for a day or two, and taken Lady Luxellian with him. He has written to ask me to go to his house, and search for a paper among his private memoranda, which he forgot to take with him.вАЭ + 

вАЬWhat did he send in the letter?вАЭ inquired Elfride. + 

вАЬThe key of a private desk in which the papers are. He doesnвАЩt like to trust such a matter to anybody else. I have done such things for him before. And what I propose is, that we make an afternoon of itвБ†вАФall three of us. Go for a drive to Targan Bay, come home by way of Endelstow House; and whilst I am looking over the documents you can ramble about the rooms where you like. I have the run of the house at any time, you know. The building, though nothing but a mass of gables outside, has a splendid hall, staircase, and gallery within; and there are a few good pictures.вАЭ + 

вАЬYes, there are,вАЭ said Stephen. + 

вАЬHave you seen the place, then?вАЭ + 

вАЬI saw it as I came by,вАЭ he said hastily. + 

вАЬOh yes; but I was alluding to the interior. And the churchвБ†вАФSt.¬†EvalвАЩsвБ†вАФis much older than our St.¬†AgnesвАЩ here. I do duty in that and this alternately, you know. The fact is, I ought to have some help; riding across that park for two miles on a wet morning is not at all the thing. If my constitution were not well seasoned, as thank God it is,вАЭвБ†вАФhere Mr.¬†Swancourt looked down his front, as if his constitution were visible thereвБ†вАФвАЬI should be coughing and barking all the year round. And when the family goes away, there are only about three servants to preach to when I get there. Well, that shall be the arrangement, then. Elfride, you will like to go?вАЭ + 

Elfride assented; and the little breakfast-party separated. Stephen rose to go and take a few final measurements at the church, the vicar following him to the door with a mysterious expression of inquiry on his face. + 

вАЬYouвАЩll put up with our not having family prayer this morning, I hope?вАЭ he whispered. + 

вАЬYes; quite so,вАЭ said Stephen. + 

вАЬTo tell you the truth,вАЭ he continued in the same undertone, вАЬwe donвАЩt make a regular thing of it; but when we have strangers visiting us, I am strongly of opinion that it is the proper thing to do, and I always do it. I am very strict on that point. But you, Smith, there is something in your face which makes me feel quite at home; no nonsense about you, in short. Ah, it reminds me of a splendid story I used to hear when I was a helter-skelter young fellowвБ†вАФsuch a story! ButвАЭвБ†вАФhere the vicar shook his head self-forbiddingly, and grimly laughed. + 

вАЬWas it a good story?вАЭ said young Smith, smiling too. + 

вАЬOh yes; but вАЩtis too badвБ†вАФtoo bad! CouldnвАЩt tell it to you for the world!вАЭ + 

Stephen went across the lawn, hearing the vicar chuckling privately at the recollection as he withdrew. + 

They started at three oвАЩclock. The gray morning had resolved itself into an afternoon bright with a pale pervasive sunlight, without the sun itself being visible. Lightly they trotted alongвБ†вАФthe wheels nearly silent, the horseвАЩs hoofs clapping, almost ringing, upon the hard, white, turnpike road as it followed the level ridge in a perfectly straight line, seeming to be absorbed ultimately by the white of the sky. + 

Targan BayвБ†вАФwhich had the merit of being easily got atвБ†вАФwas duly visited. They then swept round by innumerable lanes, in which not twenty consecutive yards were either straight or level, to the domain of Lord Luxellian. A woman with a double chin and thick neck, like Queen Anne by Dahl, threw open the lodge gate, a little boy standing behind her. + 

вАЬIвАЩll give him something, poor little fellow,вАЭ said Elfride, pulling out her purse and hastily opening it. From the interior of her purse a host of bits of paper, like a flock of white birds, floated into the air, and were blown about in all directions. + 

вАЬWell, to be sure!вАЭ said Stephen with a slight laugh. + 

вАЬWhat the dickens is all that?вАЭ said Mr.¬†Swancourt. вАЬNot halves of banknotes, Elfride?вАЭ + 

Elfride looked annoyed and guilty. вАЬThey are only something of mine, papa,вАЭ she faltered, whilst Stephen leapt out, and, assisted by the lodge-keeperвАЩs little boy, crept about round the wheels and horseвАЩs hoofs till the papers were all gathered together again. He handed them back to her, and remounted. + 

вАЬI suppose you are wondering what those scraps were?вАЭ she said, as they bowled along up the sycamore avenue. вАЬAnd so I may as well tell you. They are notes for a romance I am writing.вАЭ + 

She could not help colouring at the confession, much as she tried to avoid it. + 

вАЬA story, do you mean?вАЭ said Stephen, Mr.¬†Swancourt half listening, and catching a word of the conversation now and then. + 

вАЬYes; The Court of Kellyon Castle; a romance of the fifteenth century. Such writing is out of date now, I know; but I like doing it.вАЭ + 

вАЬA romance carried in a purse! If a highwayman were to rob you, he would be taken in.вАЭ + 

вАЬYes; thatвАЩs my way of carrying manuscript. The real reason is, that I mostly write bits of it on scraps of paper when I am on horseback; and I put them there for convenience.вАЭ + 

вАЬWhat are you going to do with your romance when you have written it?вАЭ said Stephen. + 

вАЬI donвАЩt know,вАЭ she replied, and turned her head to look at the prospect. + 

For by this time they had reached the precincts of Endelstow House. Driving through an ancient gateway of dun-coloured stone, spanned by the high-shouldered Tudor arch, they found themselves in a spacious court, closed by a fa√Іade on each of its three sides. The substantial portions of the existing building dated from the reign of Henry VIII; but the picturesque and sheltered spot had been the site of an erection of a much earlier date. A licence to crenellate mansum infra manerium suum was granted by Edward II to вАЬHugo Luxellen chivaler;вАЭ but though the faint outline of the ditch and mound was visible at points, no sign of the original building remained. + 

The windows on all sides were long and many-mullioned; the roof lines broken up by dormer lights of the same pattern. The apex stones of these dormers, together with those of the gables, were surmounted by grotesque figures in rampant, passant, and couchant variety. Tall octagonal and twisted chimneys thrust themselves high up into the sky, surpassed in height, however, by some poplars and sycamores at the back, which showed their gently rocking summits over ridge and parapet. In the corners of the court polygonal bays, whose surfaces were entirely occupied by buttresses and windows, broke into the squareness of the enclosure; and a far-projecting oriel, springing from a fantastic series of mouldings, overhung the archway of the chief entrance to the house. + 

As Mr.¬†Swancourt had remarked, he had the freedom of the mansion in the absence of its owner. Upon a statement of his errand they were all admitted to the library, and left entirely to themselves. Mr.¬†Swancourt was soon up to his eyes in the examination of a heap of papers he had taken from the cabinet described by his correspondent. Stephen and Elfride had nothing to do but to wander about till her father was ready. + 

Elfride entered the gallery, and Stephen followed her without seeming to do so. It was a long sombre apartment, enriched with fittings a century or so later in style than the walls of the mansion. Pilasters of Renaissance workmanship supported a cornice from which sprang a curved ceiling, panelled in the awkward twists and curls of the period. The old Gothic quarries still remained in the upper portion of the large window at the end, though they had made way for a more modern form of glazing elsewhere. + 

Stephen was at one end of the gallery looking towards Elfride, who stood in the midst, beginning to feel somewhat depressed by the society of Luxellian shades of cadaverous complexion fixed by Holbein, Kneller, and Lely, and seeming to gaze at and through her in a moralizing mood. The silence, which cast almost a spell upon them, was broken by the sudden opening of a door at the far end. + 

Out bounded a pair of little girls, lightly yet warmly dressed. Their eyes were sparkling; their hair swinging about and around; their red mouths laughing with unalloyed gladness. + 

вАЬAh, Miss Swancourt: dearest Elfie! we heard you. Are you going to stay here? You are our little mamma, are you notвБ†вАФour big mamma is gone to London,вАЭ said one. + 

вАЬLet me tiss you,вАЭ said the other, in appearance very much like the first, but to a smaller pattern. + 

Their pink cheeks and yellow hair were speedily intermingled with the folds of ElfrideвАЩs dress; she then stooped and tenderly embraced them both. + 

вАЬSuch an odd thing,вАЭ said Elfride, smiling, and turning to Stephen. вАЬThey have taken it into their heads lately to call me вАШlittle mamma,вАЩ because I am very fond of them, and wore a dress the other day something like one of Lady LuxellianвАЩs.вАЭ + 

These two young creatures were the Honourable Mary and the Honourable KateвБ†вАФscarcely appearing large enough as yet to bear the weight of such ponderous prefixes. They were the only two children of Lord and Lady Luxellian, and, as it proved, had been left at home during their parentsвАЩ temporary absence, in the custody of nurse and governess. Lord Luxellian was dotingly fond of the children; rather indifferent towards his wife, since she had begun to show an inclination not to please him by giving him a boy. + 

All children instinctively ran after Elfride, looking upon her more as an unusually nice large specimen of their own tribe than as a grown-up elder. It had now become an established rule, that whenever she met themвБ†вАФindoors or out-of-doors, weekdays or SundaysвБ†вАФthey were to be severally pressed against her face and bosom for the space of a quarter of a minute, and otherwise made much of on the delightful system of cumulative epithet and caress to which unpractised girls will occasionally abandon themselves. + 

A look of misgiving by the youngsters towards the door by which they had entered directed attention to a maidservant appearing from the same quarter, to put an end to this sweet freedom of the poor Honourables Mary and Kate. + 

вАЬI wish you lived here, Miss Swancourt,вАЭ piped one like a melancholy bullfinch. + 

вАЬSo do I,вАЭ piped the other like a rather more melancholy bullfinch. вАЬMamma canвАЩt play with us so nicely as you do. I donвАЩt think she ever learnt playing when she was little. When shall we come to see you?вАЭ + 

вАЬAs soon as you like, dears.вАЭ + 

вАЬAnd sleep at your house all night? ThatвАЩs what I mean by coming to see you. I donвАЩt care to see people with hats and bonnets on, and all standing up and walking about.вАЭ + 

вАЬAs soon as we can get mammaвАЩs permission you shall come and stay as long as ever you like. Goodbye!вАЭ + 

The prisoners were then led off, Elfride again turning her attention to her guest, whom she had left standing at the remote end of the gallery. On looking around for him he was nowhere to be seen. Elfride stepped down to the library, thinking he might have rejoined her father there. But Mr.¬†Swancourt, now cheerfully illuminated by a pair of candles, was still alone, untying packets of letters and papers, and tying them up again. + 

As Elfride did not stand on a sufficiently intimate footing with the object of her interest to justify her, as a proper young lady, to commence the active search for him that youthful impulsiveness prompted, and as, nevertheless, for a nascent reason connected with those divinely cut lips of his, she did not like him to be absent from her side, she wandered desultorily back to the oak staircase, pouting and casting her eyes about in hope of discerning his boyish figure. + 

Though daylight still prevailed in the rooms, the corridors were in a depth of shadowвБ†вАФchill, sad, and silent; and it was only by looking along them towards light spaces beyond that anything or anybody could be discerned therein. One of these light spots she found to be caused by a side-door with glass panels in the upper part. Elfride opened it, and found herself confronting a secondary or inner lawn, separated from the principal lawn front by a shrubbery. + 

And now she saw a perplexing sight. At right angles to the face of the wing she had emerged from, and within a few feet of the door, jutted out another wing of the mansion, lower and with less architectural character. Immediately opposite to her, in the wall of this wing, was a large broad window, having its blind drawn down, and illuminated by a light in the room it screened. + 

On the blind was a shadow from somebody close inside itвБ†вАФa person in profile. The profile was unmistakably that of Stephen. It was just possible to see that his arms were uplifted, and that his hands held an article of some kind. Then another shadow appearedвБ†вАФalso in profileвБ†вАФand came close to him. This was the shadow of a woman. She turned her back towards Stephen: he lifted and held out what now proved to be a shawl or mantleвБ†вАФplaced it carefullyвБ†вАФso carefullyвБ†вАФround the lady; disappeared; reappeared in her frontвБ†вАФfastened the mantle. Did he then kiss her? Surely not. Yet the motion might have been a kiss. Then both shadows swelled to colossal dimensionsвБ†вАФgrew distortedвБ†вАФvanished. + 

Two minutes elapsed. + 

вАЬAh, Miss Swancourt! I am so glad to find you. I was looking for you,вАЭ said a voice at her elbowвБ†вАФStephenвАЩs voice. She stepped into the passage. + 

вАЬDo you know any of the members of this establishment?вАЭ said she. + 

вАЬNot a single one: how should I?вАЭ he replied. + 