He had missed Brenda sorely during the day. In her presence the girls were quite delightful, but without her they were tiresome, plain, rather disagreeable girls. It was too late to take the pony to the station, but he himself would walk there in order that Brenda should come home under his safe convoy. This plan of his Brenda had not counted on. He took the precaution, indeed, not to appear on the platform, but met her just as she was emerging out of the shade of a thick wood just beyond the village. He thought how charming she looked in her white serge coat--how different from his own unruly girls. But Brenda herself was snappish and by no means inclined to respond to his kind attentions. "I wish you had not come out, Mr Amberley. It really is ridiculous to suppose that a woman of my age,"--(Brenda was very fond of making herself appear old when she spoke to Josiah)--"a woman of my age," she continued, "cannot walk the short distance from the station to your house." "But at midnight--my dear girl," protested Josiah, "I really could not hear of it. I hope I know what is due to any girl whom I respect, and it is only a pleasure to serve you--you know that." "Dreadful old goose!" thought Brenda to herself. But she saw that she must humour him. She had had, on the whole, a good day and, although she had not excited the admiration she had expected, she was the richer by a very valuable gold bangle. So she chatted as lightly and airily as she could and, when they entered the house, she even assisted to cat a tiny portion of the Welsh rabbit and to sip a little of the sparkling beer. She asked no questions, too, with regard to the manner in which Josiah got these dainties into the house. But although she said nothing, she thought a good deal and resolved to feed the good clergyman slightly better in future and not to save quite so much of the housekeeping money for her own purposes. When she had finished supper, she yawned profoundly, protested that she could not keep her eyes open a minute longer, and, giving Josiah a scant "good-night," ran off to bed.