There she took a securer
hold, and plunged with him under the trees.
Away from the precincts of the house she could apply herself more
vigorously to her task, which was a heavy one enough for her, robust
as she was; and the exertion and fright she had already undergone
began to tell upon her by the time she reached the corner of a
beech-plantation which intervened between the manor-house and the
village. Here she was so nearly exhausted that she feared she might
have to leave him on the spot. But she plodded on after a while,
and keeping upon the grass at every opportunity she stood at last
opposite the poor young man's garden-gate, where he lived with his
father, the parish-clerk. How she accomplished the end of her task
Lady Caroline never quite knew; but, to avoid leaving traces in the
road, she carried him bodily across the gravel, and laid him down at
the door. Perfectly aware of his ways of coming and going, she
searched behind the shutter for the cottage door-key, which she
placed in his cold hand. Then she kissed his face for the last
time, and with silent little sobs bade him farewell.
Lady Caroline retraced her steps, and reached the mansion without
hindrance; and to her great relief found the window open just as she
had left it. When she had climbed in she listened attentively,
fastened the window behind her, and ascending the stairs noiselessly
to her room, set everything in order, and returned to bed.
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