Well, Miss Garston, how many hours do you intend to spend at the cottage daily ?' 'I should think two hours in the morning and an hour and a half in the late afternoon or evening might do, unless there be a change for the worse, or Elspeth falls ill; she is very old and feeble.' 'She was half starved, poor old creature,--fairly clemmed, as they say in the North.

Here we are at your place, Miss Garston.

How bright and inviting your parlour looks! I wonder if I may ask to come in for a few minutes, while I tell you about the other case ?' Of course I could not do less than invite him to enter, after that; but I am afraid my manner lacked enthusiasm, and betrayed the fact that I was unwilling to entertain Mr.Hamilton as a guest, for when I saw his face in the lamplight he was regarding me with some amusement.
'Cunliffe has done me no end of mischief,' he said, as he offered to relieve me of my wraps: 'that unfortunate speech has strongly prejudiced you against me.

Confess, now, you think me a very disagreeable person, because I happened to disagree with you that evening.' 'Certainly not on that account,' I returned, falling into the trap; and then we both laughed, for I had as good as owned that I thought him disagreeable.

That laugh made us better friends.