“Oh, yes; but there is no time for anything of that sort here— nor——”
Priscilla hesitated. “I don’t think there’s space for a very long walk
here,” she added. The color rushed into her cheeks as she spoke and her
eyes looked wistful.
Maggie laughed.
“What _are_ your ideas in regard to space, Miss Peel? The whole of
Kingsdeneshire lies before us. We are untrammeled and can go where we
please. Is not that a sufficiently broad area for our roamings?”
“But there is no sea,” said Priscilla. “We should never have time to
walk from here to the sea, and nothing— nothing else seems worth
while.”
“Oh, you have lived by the sea?”
“Yes, all my life. When I was a little girl, my home was near Whitby,
in Yorkshire, and lately I have lived close to Lyme— two extreme points
of England, you will say; but no matter, the sea is the same. To walk
for miles on the top of the cliffs, that means exercise.”
“Ah,” said Maggie with a sigh, “I understand you— I know what you
mean.”
She spoke quickly, as she always did under the least touch of
excitement. “Such a walk means more than exercise; it means thought,
aspiration. Your brain seems to expand then and ideas come. Of course
you don’t care for poor flat Kingsdeneshire.”
Priscilla turned and stared at Miss Oliphant. Maggie laughed; she
raised her hand to her forehead.
“I must not talk any more,” she said, turning pale and shrinking into
herself. “Forgive my rhapsodies. You’ll understand what they are worth
when you know me better. Oh, by the way, will you come with me to
Kingsdene on Sunday? We can go to the three o’clock service at the
chapel and afterward have tea with some friends of mine— the Marshalls—
they’d be delighted to see you.”
“What chapel is the service at?” inquired Priscilla.
“What chapel? Is there a second? Come with me, and you will never ask
that question again. Get under the shade of St. Hilda’s— see once those
fretted roofs and those painted windows. Listen but once to that angel
choir, and then dare to ask me what chapel I mean when I invite you to
come and taste of heaven beforehand.”
“Thank you,” said Priscilla, “I’ll come. I cannot be expected to know
about things before I have heard of them, can I? But I am very much
obliged to you, and I shall be delighted to come.”
CHAPTER IX
A NEW LIFE
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account