She appeared, accompanied by the rector, about half an hour after Maria had
brought in tea, and seemed overwhelmed to discover that Ann herself had
only just arrived.
"I really must apologise," she declared, in the voice of a superior person
making a very generous concession. "I quite thought you were expecting your
sister yesterday, Mr. Lovell. I told you so, didn't I, Brian?" She appealed
to her brother, who nodded rather unhappily. "And we thought we'd like to
call as soon as possible and welcome you to the parish."
Ann didn't believe a word of it.
"She knew perfectly well you were expecting me to-day," she declared when,
later on, she and Robin found themselves alone again. "Though I haven't the
slightest doubt she told that nice brother of hers just what she wished him
to believe. She simply wanted to have first look at me so as to be able to
give the village to-morrow a full, true, and particular account of what I'm
like."
However, she replied to Miss Caroline's apologies with the necessary
cordiality demanded by the occasion and, ringing for Maria, ordered fresh
tea. The rector protested.
"No, no," he said hastily. "You must be far too tired to want visitors when
you've only just come off a long journey.
Pages:
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135