Hugh Ritson"s infirm foot trailed heavily on the stones. His lips quivered. For a moment he seemed to be rapt. Then he swung about and muttered:
"Tut! it isn"t within belief. Thrusted home, it might betray a man, Heaven only knows how deeply."
Mr. Bonnithorne looked up inquiringly.
"Pardon me; I fail, as you say, to catch the relevance."
"Mr. Bonnithorne," said Hugh Ritson, holding out his hand, "you and I have been good friends, have we not?"
"Oh, the best of friends."
"At your leisure, when I have had time to think of this, let us discuss it further."
Mr. Bonnithorne smiled a.s.sent.
"And meantime," he said, softly, "let the unhappy little being we spoke of be sent away."
Hugh Ritson"s eyes fell, and his voice deepened.
"Poor little soul--I"m sorry--very."
"As for Greta and her lover--well--"
Mr. Bonnithorne nodded his head significantly, and left his words unfinished.
"My father is crossing the stack-yard," said Hugh Ritson. "You shall see him in good time. Come this way."
The shadows were lengthening in the valley. A purple belt was stretching across the distant hills, and a dark-blue tint was nestling under the eaves. A solitary crow flew across the sky, and cawed out its guttural note. Its shadow fell, as it pa.s.sed, on two elderly people who were coming into the court-yard.
CHAPTER IV.
"It"s time for that laal Mr. Bonnithorne to be here," said Allan Ritson.
"Why did you send for him?" asked Mrs. Ritson, in the low tone that was natural to her.
"To get that matter about the will off my mind. It"ll be one thing less to think about, and it has boddert me sair and lang."
Allan spoke with the shuffling reserve of a man to whose secret communings a painful idea had been too long familiar. In the effort to cast off the unwelcome and secret a.s.sociate, there was a show of emanc.i.p.ation which, as an acute observer might see, was more a.s.sumed than real.
Mrs. Ritson made no terms with the affectation of indifference. Her grave face became yet more grave, and her soft voice grew softer as she said:
"And if when it is settled and done the cloud would break that has hung over our lives, then all would be well. But that can never be."
Allan tossed his head aside, and made pretense to smile; but no gleam of sunshine on his cornfields was ever chased so closely by the line of dark shadow as his smile by the frown that followed.
"Come, worrit thysel" na" mair about it! When I"ve made my will, and put Paul on the same footing with t"other lad, who knows owt mair nor we choose to tell?"
Mrs. Ritson glanced into his face with a look of sad reproach.
"Heaven knows, Allan," she said; "and the dark cloud still gathers for us there."
The old man took a step or two on the gravel path, and dropped his gray head. His voice deepened:
"Tha says reet, mother," he said, "tha says reet. Ey, it saddens my auld days--and thine forby!" He took a step or two more, and added: "And na lawyer can shak" it off now. Nay, nay, never now. Weel, mother, our sky has been lang owerkessen; but, mind ye," lifting his face and voice together, "we"ve had gude crops if we tholed some thistles."
"Yes, we"ve had happy days, too," said Mrs. Ritson.
At that moment there came from across the vale the shouts of the merrymakers and the music of a fiddle. Allan Ritson lifted his head, nodded it aside jauntily, and smiled feebly through the mist that was gathering about his eyes.
"There they are--wrestling and jumping. I mind me when there was scarce a man in c.u.mmerlan" could give me the cross-b.u.t.tock. That"s many a lang year agone, though. And now our Paul can manish most on "em--that he can."
The fiddle was playing a country dance. The old man listened; his face broadened, he lifted a leg jauntily, and gave a sweep of one arm.
Just then there came through the air a peal of happy laughter. It was the same heart"s music that Hugh Ritson and Mr. Bonnithorne had heard in the road. Allan"s face brightened, and his voice had only the faintest crack in it as he said:
"That"s Greta"s laugh! It is for sure! What a heartsome la.s.s yon is! I like a heartsome la.s.sie--a merrie touch, and gone!"
"Yes," said Mrs. Ritson, soberly; "Greta is a winsome girl."
It was hardly spoken when a young girl bounded down upon them, almost breathless, yet laughing in gusts, turning her head over her shoulder and shouting:
"Hurrah! Beaten, sir! Hurrah!"
It was Greta Lowther; twenty years of age, with fair hair, quick brown eyes, a sunny face lighted up with youthful animation, a swift smile on her parted lips--an English wild white rose.
"I"ve beaten him," she said. "He challenged me to cross Windybrowe while he ran round the Bowder stone, but I got to the lonnin before he had crossed the bridge."
Then, running to the corner of the lane, she plucked off her straw hat, waved it about her head, and shouted again in an accent of triumph:
"Hurrah! hurrah! beaten, sir, beaten!"
Paul Ritson came running down the fell in strides of two yards apiece.
"Oh, you young rogue--you cheated!" he cried, coming to a stand and catching his breath.
"Cheated?" said Greta, in a tone of dire amazement.
"You bargained to touch the beacon on the top of Windybrowe, and you didn"t go within a hundred yards of it."
"The beacon? On Windybrowe?" said the girl, and wondrous perplexity shone in her lovely eyes.
Paul wiped his brow, and shook his head and his finger with mock gravity at the beautiful cheat.
"Now, Greta, now--now--gently--"