The Holt was situated at the extremity of a picturesque village, which consisted of a rambling street of red brick or black and white houses; half-way down this, perched on a high bank, was a fine old church, with its surrounding graveyard; and here and there, were little shops, and quaint signboards, and what had once been a celebrated posting inn--now used for the storage of grain. At the further end of Thornby was a grim-faced Georgian mansion, standing back from the road, its lawn and approach well screened from view by thick laurel hedges; immediately behind the residence, were large and unexpectedly delightful grounds. Mrs. Hesketh, who had occupied Oldcourt for ten years, was a childless widow, with few belongings or intimates; once a notable leader in society, but latterly indifferent health, and serious money losses, had swept her out of the social current, and she had come to Thornby to live near her active cousin, Dolly Fenchurch, possibly in hopes of catching the contagion of her love for a busy rural life. An intellectual woman, and an omnivorous reader, Maude Hesketh dwelt to a great extent within herself; eagerly watching, through the columns of the Press, the great world as it went rolling by. Once a year she emerged from her retirement, and went to take the waters at Aix; but the remainder of the time she occupied herself with her books, her flowers, and her own thoughts. In spite of her solitude, Mrs. Hesketh was beautifully dressed, she dressed to please and satisfy a dainty, fastidious taste. Her house, too, was refined, and filled with old French furniture, clever impressionist sketches, _bibelots_, and exquisitely bound books; and although she had lost a considerable part of her income in a notorious financial failure, she was comfortably off, and kept a carriage, which she rarely used. The lady had the reputation of being eccentric, and something of a mystery; chiefly because she held herself studiously aloof from her neighbours, and was said to give herself ridiculous airs! This was a mistake. Mrs. Hesketh did not cultivate local society, simply because it bored her. She was not interested in parish squabbles, county scandals, or domestic servants; but she visited in the village, where she was much beloved by the poor. To sum her up, Maude Hesketh was a clever, noble-hearted, dissatisfied woman, bitterly disappointed to find that with all her gifts and opportunities, she had made so little of her life. And now, as she would say to herself, “There is no time--it is almost over!”