Richard stepped into the porch, but Dorothy glided between them, and gently pushed him out. 'Richard Heywood!' she said. 'Whew!' interjected the stranger, softly. 'You can claim no right,' she went on, 'to be here at this hour. Pray go; you will disturb my mother.' 'Who is this man, then, whose right seems acknowledged?' asked Richard, in ill-suppressed fury. 'When you address me like a gentleman, such as I used to believe you--' 'May I presume to ask when you ceased to regard me as a gentleman, mistress Dorothy?' 'As soon as I found that you had learned to despise law and religion,' answered the girl. 'Such a one will hardly succeed in acting the part of a gentleman, even had he the blood of the Somersets in his veins.' 'I thank you, mistress Dorothy,' said the stranger, 'and will profit by the plain hint. Once more tell me to go, and I will obey.' 'He must go first,' returned Dorothy. Richard had been standing as if stunned, but now with an effort recovered himself. 'I will wait for you,' he said, and turned away. 'For whom, sir?' asked Dorothy, indignantly. 'You have refused me the gentleman's name,' answered Richard: 'perhaps I may have the good fortune to persuade himself to be more obliging.' 'I shall not keep you waiting long,' said the young man significantly, as Richard walked away. To do Richard justice, and greatly he needs it, I must make the remark that such had been the intimacy betwixt him and Dorothy, that he might well imagine himself acquainted with all the friends of her house. But the intimacy had been confined to the children; the heads of the two houses, although good neighbours, had not been drawn towards each other, and their mutual respect had not ripened into friendship. Hence many of the family and social relations of each were unknown to the other; and indeed both families led such a retired life that the children knew little of their own relatives even, and seldom spoke of any. Lady Scudamore, the mother of the stranger, was first cousin to lady Vaughan. They had been very intimate as girls, but had not met for years--hardly since the former married sir John, the son of one of King James's carpet-knights. Hearing of her cousin's illness, she had come to visit her at last, under the escort of her son. Taken with his new cousin, the youth had lingered and lingered; and in fact Dorothy had been unable to get rid of him before an hour strange for leave-taking in such a quiet and yet hospitable neighbourhood. Richard took his stand on the side of the public road opposite the gate; but just ere Scudamore came, which was hardly a minute after, a cloud crept over the moon, and, as he happened to stand in a line with the bole of a tree, Scudamore did not catch sight of him. When he turned to walk along the road, Richard thought he avoided him, and, making a great stride or two after him, called aloud-- 'Stop, sir, stop. You forget your appointments over easily, I think.'