Then with a sweep of feathers and laces the speaker entered, and
Juliet raised her eyes to regard her. She saw a young woman,
delicate-looking, with a pretty, insolent face and expensive clothes,
walk past, and was aware for a moment of a haughty stare that seemed
to question her right to be there. Then her own attention passed to
the man who entered in her wake.
He was tall, middle-aged, handsome in a somewhat ordinary style, but
Juliet thought his mouth wore the most unpleasant expression she had ever
seen. It was drawn down at the corners in a sneering curve, and a decided
frown knitted his brows. He walked with the suggestion of a swagger, as
if ready to challenge any who should dispute his right to the place and
everyone in it.
His wife entered the great square pew, but he strode on to the chancel,
tapped the organist unceremoniously on the shoulder and spoke to him.
Juliet watched the result with a curiosity she could not restrain. The
black head turned sharply. She caught a momentary glimpse of Green's
energetic profile as he spoke briefly and emphatically and immediately
returned to his instrument. The squire marched back to his pew still
frowning, and the voluntary continued. He played with assurance but
somewhat mechanically, and she presently realized that he was keeping a
sharp eye on the schoolchildren at the same time. The service was a
lengthy one and they needed supervision. They fidgeted and whispered
unceasingly. A lady whom she took to be the Vicar's daughter sat near
them, but it was quite obvious that she had no control over them. During
the sermon, which was a very sleepy affair, Green left the organ and went
and sat amongst them.
Then indeed a profound quiet reigned and Juliet became so drowsy that
it took her utmost resolution to stay awake. Most of the congregation
slept unrestrainedly. It was certainly a hot morning, and the service
very dull.
When it was over at last, she stepped out under the yew-trees and
wondered why she had not made her escape before. She was the first to
leave the church, and wandering down the path through the hot, chequered
sunlight she saw the shining car drawn up at the gate, and a young
chauffeur waiting at the door. She glanced at him as she passed, and was
surprised for a second to find him gazing at her with a curious
intentness. He lowered his eyes the moment they met hers, and she passed
on, wondering what there was about her to excite his interest.
Columbus was waiting with pathetic patience to be taken for a walk,
and overpoweringly hot though it was she had not the heart to keep him
any longer. But she could not face the full blaze of noon on the
shore, and she turned back up the shady church lane with a vague
memory of having seen a stile at the entrance of a wood somewhere
along its winding length.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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