Mr. Linden"s eyes came to her instantly, with something of their former look, but very bright; and bending off his horse he put one arm round her, with as full and earnest a kiss as she had ever had from him.
"That is what I was thinking of," he said, "I was thinking of my wife, Mignonette."
"Aren"t you satisfied?" she said in her former tone.--"Perfectly."
The look made a very personal application.--Faith shook her head a little, and they rode on.
The cottage door was very near presently: Faith could see all the minor points of interest. Malthus, who had got there by a short cut, waited to take their horses; then a white cap and ap.r.o.n appeared in the doorway for a second and vanished again.
"You will find another of our old dependants here, Faith," said Mr.
Linden.
"Who is that?" she said quickly.--"There were three women in our house," said Mr. Linden, "that Pet and I called respectively, "Good,"
"Better," and "Best," this is Best. Hers was a name in earnest, for we never called her anything else; and it was always the desire of her heart first to see my wife and then to live with her. And I was sure she would please you."
"What must I call her?--_Mrs_. Best?" said Faith. "No, you must call her nothing but "Best.""
"That"s excellent!" said Faith gleefully. "I thought there was n.o.body here but _one_ friend of yours, Endecott. Now I shall get in order directly."
"_That_ is what you thought you were coming to," he said, coming to her side to lift her down. "How would you like to be taken right back to Mr. Olyphant"s?"--"Not at all!"
In answer to which she was lightly jumped down from the saddle and carried off into the house; where Mr. Linden and Best shook hands after a prolonged fashion, and the old servant--not that she was very old neither--turned glad, and eager, and respectful eyes upon her new mistress, touching that little hand with great satisfaction of heart.
"It"s warmer in the study, sir," she said, "and there"s a fire in the kitchen, if Mrs. Endecott would like to see that. And shall I make one anywhere else, ma"am?"
Best"s white cap and ap.r.o.n were very attractive, and so, on the other hand were Faith"s blush and smile.
The hall in which they stood, rather a wide one, cut the house from front to back, with no break of stairway. Through the open back door Faith could see the dark cliff, and hear the brook. Mr. Linden asked where "she would go first?" Faith whispered, "To the study." He smiled, and opened the one door at her left hand, and led her in.
Not yet in perfect order, the bookshelves yet unfurnished, it looked a very abode of comfort; for there were basking sunbeams and a blazing fire, there were shelves and cupboards of various size and shape, there were windows, not _very_ large, it is true, but giving such views of the fair country below, and the brook, and the ascent, and the distant blue peaks of the range. Warm-coloured curtains, and carpet, and couch had been put here under Mr. Olyphant"s orders; and here were things of Mr. Linden"s which Faith had never seen--his escritoire and study table among others. _Her_ table, with a dainty easy-chair, at the prettiest of all the windows, she knew at a glance--unknown as it was before; but the desk which she had had long ago, stood on the study table, nearer his. Mr. Linden brought her up to the fire, and stood silent, with his arms wrapped about her for a minute; then he stooped and kissed her.
"How does it look, Sunbeam?"
Faith was grave, and her eye went silently from one thing to another even after he spoke, then turned its full sunny answer upon him. Faith certainly thought he did too much for her; but she spoke no such thought, leaving it as she had once meant to leave other thoughts, for action.
"You can put your books right in, and then it will be beautiful," she remarked. "And look down the mountain, out of that window, Endecott."
She was taken over to the window for a nearer view and placed in her easy-chair to take the good of it.
"Do you see that little red speck far down at the foot of the hill?"
Mr. Linden said, "in that particularly rough steep place?"--"Yes."
"That is the best thing we can get for a church at present."
Faith thought it would be a very good sort of a "thing" when he was in it; but, as usual, she did not tell all her thoughts. They came back to her easy-chair and table, and from them to Mr. Linden"s face, with a look which said "How could you?" But he only smiled, and asked her if she felt disposed to go over the rest of the house.
For a house that was not in order, this one was singularly put to rights. Boxes and packages and trunks there were in plenty; rolls of carpet and pieces of bedsteads, and chairs and tables, and everything else; but they were all snugly disposed by the wall, so that the rooms could be entered and the windows reached. The inside of the cottage was, like the outside, irregular, picturesque, and with sufficient capabilities of comfort. The kitchen was in a state of nicety to match that of Best; in a piece of ground behind the house, partly prepared for a garden, Malthus was at work as composedly as if they had all been settled in the White Mountains for the last ten years.
Lunch was taken somewhat informally; then the riding habit being changed for a working dress, Faith set about reducing the rebellion among boxes and furniture. Best had reason presently to be satisfied not only with the manners but the powers of her new mistress; though she also judged in her wisdom that the latter needed some restriction in their exercise. Gentleness was never more efficient. The sitting-room began to look like a sitting-room; tables and bookshelves and chairs marched into place. Meanwhile Faith had been getting into pleasant order one of the rooms up stairs, which, with what Mrs.
Olyphant had done, was easy; enjoying the mountain air that came in through the window, and unpacking linen and china. Mr. Linden, on his part, had been as busy with some of the rougher and heavier work, opening boxes and unpacking books, and especially taking care of Faith; which last work was neither rough nor heavy. She was amused (edified too) at the new commentary on his former life which this day gave her: to call upon servants when they were present, seemed as natural as to do without them when they were absent. Faith mused and wondered a little over the old habit which showed itself so plainly, thinking too of his life in Pattaqua.s.set.
The day had worn on and faded, and Faith was still busy in a hunt for some of her wedding presents which she wanted to have on the tea-table.
But Mr. Linden for some time had missed her; and entering upon a tour of search, found her in a large closet near the kitchen, with a great deal chest on one side and a trunk on the other. Between them, on her knees, Faith was laying out package after package, and pile after pile of naperies lay on the floor around her; in the very height of rummaging, though with cheeks evidently paled since the morning. Mr.
Linden took an expressive view of the subject.
"Mignonette, I want my tea."
"Yes!" said Faith eagerly, looking up and then at her work again, "just so soon as I find some things--"
"I don"t want "things," I want tea."
"Yes; but you can"t have tea without things."
"I will be content with six napkins and ten tablecloths--just for to-night, as we are in confusion."
"And no spoons?" said Faith. "Here they are."
"Yes; here they are," said Mr. Linden, "and here is everything else.
Just look at the state of the floor, for me to walk over."
"Not at all," said Faith; "please keep out. I will have tea ready very soon, Endy."
"You shall not have anything ready," and Faith found herself lifted from her kneeling position, and placed in a not uncomfortable nest of things, "Now, Mrs. Linden, whatever of those packages your hands may touch, shall lie on the floor all night. But as you see, my hands have a different effect." And swiftly and surely the "things" began to find corner room in the closet.
"Endy," said Faith, catching his hands, "please don"t! Just go away, and leave me here for three minutes."
"Not for one. I"ll turn them all out again in the morning, after the most approved fashion."
Faith sat down, the swift colour in her cheeks testifying to a little rebellion. It was swift to go, however, as it had been to come; and she sat still, looking on at Mr. Linden"s work, with a little soberness of brow. That broke too, when she met his eye, in a very frank and deep smile.
"Well?" he said, laughing and leaning back against the closet door.
"Will you let me go and get tea now?" she said, with the same look.--"You pretty child! No, I want Best to get tea--and you to be quiet."
"I"ll come and be quiet in three minutes, Endy, after I get rid of the dust," she said, winningly.
"Genuine minutes? If Ariel "put a girdle round the earth" in forty, you should be able to put one round your waist in three--I suppose that is included in a feminine "getting rid of the dust.""
Faith"s face promised faithfulness, as she ran off towards the kitchen; where in less than three minutes she and Best had proved the (sometimes) excellence of women"s business faculties. Meantime a strange man lifted the latch of the kitchen door, and carefully closing it after him, remained upon the scene of action.
"How d"ye do?" he said. "Is the new man come?"--"Everybody"s new here,"
said Faith. "Whom do you mean?"--"Couldn"t tell ye the first word! But I"ve been after him better"n three times, if he ain"t," the man spoke as if it was "worse" instead of better.
"Whom do you mean?" said Faith more gravely; "the minister?"--"Now that"s what I call hitting the nail," said her visitor. "Well if he"s here, just tell him to come up the mounting, will ye?"--"When?"
"Moon sets close on to nine, and its lighter afore that."
"Where is the place?" said Faith, now very serious indeed; "and what do you want the minister for?"--"I don"t want him, bless you!" said the man. "If I did, I shouldn"t be standin" here. It"s an old soul up our way. He"s got to go up to the bridge and over the bridge and "tother side of the bridge, and so on till he comes to it. And the bridge is slippy." With which summing up, the man turned to the door, rattling the latch in a sort of preparatory way, to give Faith a chance for remarks.