"But what was I to do? I'm sure I liked the young man very much. I never knew a young man who took his tea so pleasant. And as for his manners and his way of talking, I had it in my heart to fall in love with him myself. I had indeed. As far as that goes, he's just the young man that I could make a son of." "Dear mamma! my own dearest mamma!" and Rachel, jumping up, threw herself upon her mother's neck. "Stop there. You shan't say another word." "I'm sure I didn't mean to say anything unpleasant." "No, you did not; and I won't be impatient." "Only I can't bear that look. And you know what his mother said,--and Mrs. Tappitt. Not that I care about Mrs. Tappitt; only a person's mother is his mother, and he shouldn't have called her a goose." It must be acknowledged that Rachel's position was not comfortable; and it certainly would not have been improved had she known how many people in Baslehurst were talking about her and Rowan. That Rowan was gone everybody knew; that he had made love to Rachel everybody said; that he never meant to come back any more most professed to believe. Tappitt's tongue was loud in proclaiming his iniquities; and her follies and injuries Mrs. Tappitt whispered into the ears of all her female acquaintances. "I'm sorry for her," Miss Harford said, mildly. Mrs. Tappitt was calling at the rectory, and had made her way in. Mr. Tappitt was an upholder of the old rector, and there was a fellow-townsman's friendship between them. "Oh yes;--very sorry for her," said Mrs. Tappitt. "Very sorry indeed," said Augusta, who was with her mother. "She always seemed to me a pretty, quiet, well-behaved girl," said Miss Harford. "Still waters run deepest, you know, Miss Harford," said Mrs. Tappitt. "I should never have imagined it of her;--never. But she certainly met him half-way." "But we all thought he was respectable, you know," said Miss Harford. Miss Harford was thoroughly good-natured; and though she had never gone half-way herself, and had perhaps lost her chance from having been unable to go any part of the way, she was not disposed to condemn a girl for having been willing to be admired by such a one as Luke Rowan. "Well;--yes; at first we did. He had the name of money, you know, and that goes so far with some girls. We were on our guard,"--and she looked proudly round on Augusta,--"till we should hear what the young man really was. He has thrown off his sheep's clothing now with a vengeance. Mr. Tappitt feels quite ashamed that he should have introduced him to any of the people here; he does indeed." "That may be her misfortune, and not her fault," said Miss Harford, who in defending Rachel was well enough inclined to give up Luke. Indeed, Baslehurst was beginning to have a settled mind that Luke was a wolf. "Oh, quite so," said Mrs. Tappitt. "The poor girl has been very unfortunate no doubt." After that she took her leave of the rectory.