After this, came the dinner and the letter writing, and some moretalking, in the course of which Miss Haredale took occasion tocharge upon Dolly certain flirtish and inconstant propensities,which accusations Dolly seemed to think very complimentary indeed,and to be mightily amused with. Finding her quite incorrigible inthis respect, Emma suffered her to depart; but not before she hadconfided to her that important and never-sufficiently-to-be-takencare-of answer, and endowed her moreover with a pretty littlebracelet as a keepsake. Having clasped it on her arm, and againadvised her half in jest and half in earnest to amend her roguishways, for she knew she was fond of Joe at heart (which Dollystoutly denied, with a great many haughty protestations that shehoped she could do better than that indeed! and so forth), she badeher farewell; and after calling her back to give her moresupplementary messages for Edward, than anybody with tenfold thegravity of Dolly Varden could be reasonably expected to remember,at length dismissed her.
Dolly bade her good bye, and tripping lightly down the stairsarrived at the dreaded library door, and was about to pass it againon tiptoe, when it opened, and behold! there stood Mr Haredale.
Now, Dolly had from her childhood associated with this gentlemanthe idea of something grim and ghostly, and being at the momentconscience-stricken besides, the sight of him threw her into such aflurry that she could neither acknowledge his presence nor runaway, so she gave a great start, and then with downcast eyes stoodstill and trembled.
"Come here, girl," said Mr Haredale, taking her by the hand. "Iwant to speak to you."
"If you please, sir, I"m in a hurry," faltered Dolly, "and--youhave frightened me by coming so suddenly upon me, sir--I wouldrather go, sir, if you"ll be so good as to let me."
"Immediately," said Mr Haredale, who had by this time led her intothe room and closed the door. You shall go directly. You havejust left Emma?"
"Yes, sir, just this minute.--Father"s waiting for me, sir, ifyou"ll please to have the goodness--"
I know. I know," said Mr Haredale. "Answer me a question. Whatdid you bring here to-day?"
"Bring here, sir?" faltered Dolly.
"You will tell me the truth, I am sure. Yes."
Dolly hesitated for a little while, and somewhat emboldened by hismanner, said at last, "Well then, sir. It was a letter."
"From Mr Edward Chester, of course. And you are the bearer of theanswer?"
Dolly hesitated again, and not being able to decide upon any othercourse of action, burst into tears.
"You alarm yourself without cause," said Mr Haredale. "Why are youso foolish? Surely you can answer me. You know that I have butto put the question to Emma and learn the truth directly. Have youthe answer with you?"
Dolly had what is popularly called a spirit of her own, and beingnow fairly at bay, made the best of it.
"Yes, sir," she rejoined, trembling and frightened as she was.
"Yes, sir, I have. You may kill me if you please, sir, but I won"tgive it up. I"m very sorry,--but I won"t. There, sir."
"I commend your firmness and your plain-speaking," said MrHaredale. "Rest assured that I have as little desire to take yourletter as your life. You are a very discreet messenger and a goodgirl."
Not feeling quite certain, as she afterwards said, whether he mightnot be "coming over her" with these compliments, Dolly kept as farfrom him as she could, cried again, and resolved to defend herpocket (for the letter was there) to the last extremity.
"I have some design," said Mr Haredale after a short silence,during which a smile, as he regarded her, had struggled throughthe gloom and melancholy that was natural to his face, "ofproviding a companion for my niece; for her life is a very lonelyone. Would you like the office? You are the oldest friend shehas, and the best entitled to it."
"I don"t know, sir," answered Dolly, not sure but he was banteringher; "I can"t say. I don"t know what they might wish at home. Icouldn"t give an opinion, sir."
"If your friends had no objection, would you have any?" said MrHaredale. "Come. There"s a plain question; and easy to answer."
"None at all that I know of sir," replied Dolly. "I should be veryglad to be near Miss Emma of course, and always am."
"That"s well," said Mr Haredale. "That is all I had to say. Youare anxious to go. Don"t let me detain you."
Dolly didn"t let him, nor did she wait for him to try, for thewords had no sooner passed his lips than she was out of the room,out of the house, and in the fields again.
The first thing to be done, of course, when she came to herself andconsidered what a flurry she had been in, was to cry afresh; andthe next thing, when she reflected how well she had got over it,was to laugh heartily. The tears once banished gave place to thesmiles, and at last Dolly laughed so much that she was fain to leanagainst a tree, and give vent to her exultation. When she couldlaugh no longer, and was quite tired, she put her head-dress torights, dried her eyes, looked back very merrily and triumphantlyat the Warren chimneys, which were just visible, and resumed herwalk.
The twilight had come on, and it was quickly growing dusk, but thepath was so familiar to her from frequent traversing that shehardly thought of this, and certainly felt no uneasiness at beingleft alone. Moreover, there was the bracelet to admire; and whenshe had given it a good rub, and held it out at arm"s length, itsparkled and glittered so beautifully on her wrist, that to look atit in every point of view and with every possible turn of the arm,was quite an absorbing business. There was the letter too, and itlooked so mysterious and knowing, when she took it out of herpocket, and it held, as she knew, so much inside, that to turn itover and over, and think about it, and wonder how it began, and howit ended, and what it said all through, was another matter ofconstant occupation. Between the bracelet and the letter, therewas quite enough to do without thinking of anything else; andadmiring each by turns, Dolly went on gaily.
As she passed through a wicket-gate to where the path was narrow,and lay between two hedges garnished here and there with trees, sheheard a rustling close at hand, which brought her to a sudden stop.
She listened. All was very quiet, and she went on again--notabsolutely frightened, but a little quicker than before perhaps,and possibly not quite so much at her ease, for a check of thatkind is startling.
She had no sooner moved on again, than she was conscious of thesame sound, which was like that of a person tramping stealthilyamong bushes and brushwood. Looking towards the spot whence itappeared to come, she almost fancied she could make out a crouchingfigure. She stopped again. All was quiet as before. On she wentonce more--decidedly faster now--and tried to sing softly toherself. It must he the wind.
But how came the wind to blow only when she walked, and cease whenshe stood still? She stopped involuntarily as she made thereflection, and the rustling noise stopped likewise. She wasreally frightened now, and was yet hesitating what to do, when thebushes crackled and snapped, and a man came plunging through them,close before her.