So sharp-edged was her tongue, even to the moment of embarkation in
the train, that her mother began to fear how she might behave, and
dreaded lest she should wound Fordham; but she grew more silent all
the way down, and when the carriage came to the station, and they
drove past banks starred by primroses, and with the blue eyes of
periwinkles looking out among the evergreen trailers, she spoke no
word. Even Allen brightened to enjoy that lamb-like March day; and
John, with his little sister on his knee, was most joyously
felicitous. Indeed, the tall, athletic, handsome fellow looked as if
it were indeed spring with him, all the more from the contrast with
Allen's languid, sallow looks, savouring of the fumes in which he
lived.
Out on the steps were Fordham, wrapped up to the ears; Sydney ready
to devour Babie, who passively submitted; and Mrs. Evelyn, as usual,
giving her friend a sense of rest and reliance.
The last visit, though only five years previous to this one, had
seemed in past ages, till the familiar polished oak floor was under
foot, and the low tea-table in the wainscoted hall, before the great
wood fire, looked so homelike and natural, that the newcomers felt as
if they had only left it yesterday. Fordham, having thrown off his
wraps, waited on his guests, looking exceedingly happy in his quiet
way, but more fragile than ever.
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