" Was this going straight to Mrs.
Forbes, to whom she should herself scarcely have liked to name it, the
act of a good, thoughtful man, or of a lover? questioned Miss Monro; but
she could not answer her own inquiry, and had to be very grateful for the
deed, without accounting for the motives.
A coach met the train at a station about ten miles from Hamley, and Dixon
was at the inn where the coach stopped, ready to receive them.
The old man was almost in tears at the sight of them again in a familiar
place. He had put on his Sunday clothes to do them honour; and to
conceal his agitation he kept up a pretended bustle about their luggage.
To the indignation of the inn-porters, who were of a later generation, he
would wheel it himself to the Parsonage, though he broke down from
fatigue once or twice on the way, and had to stand and rest, his ladies
waiting by his side, and making remarks on the alterations of houses and
the places of trees, in order to give him ample time to recruit himself,
for there was no one to wait for them and give them a welcome to the
Parsonage, which was to be their temporary home. The respectful
servants, in deep mourning, had all prepared, and gave Ellinor a note
from Mr. Brown, saying that he purposely refrained from disturbing them
that day after their long journey, but would call on the morrow, and tell
them of the arrangements he had thought of making, always subject to Miss
Wilkins's approval.
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