Perhaps he had accepted her escort in hopes of deferring the evil hour, for he seemed discomfited to see her so quickly ready, and not grateful to his sisters, who hurried them by saying that Mr. Bowles would be gone out upon his rounds.

Mr. Bowles was amazed at the sight of Mrs. Kendal, and so elaborate in compliments and assurances that Mrs. Bowles would do herself the honour of calling, that Albinia, pitying Gilbert, called his attention back.

With him the apothecary was peremptory and facetious.  ’He had expected that he should soon see him after his papa’s return!’ And with a ‘soon be over,’ he set him down, and Albinia bravely stood a desperate wringing of her hand at the tug of war.  She was glad she had come, for the boy suffered a good deal, and was faint, and Mr. Bowles pronounced his mouth in no state for a ride to Tremblam.

‘I must go,’ said Gilbert, as they walked home, ’I wish papa would listen to anything.’

‘He would not wish you to hurt yourself.’

‘When papa says a thing—­’ began Gilbert.

’Well, Gilbert, you are quite right, and I hope you don’t think I mean to teach you disobedience.  But I do desire you, on my own responsibility, not to go and catch an inflammation in your jaw.  I’ll undertake papa.’

Gilbert at once became quite another creature.  He discoursed so much, that she had to make him restore the handkerchief to his mouth; he held open the gate, showed her a shoal of minnows, and tried to persuade her to come round the garden before going in, but she clapped her hands at him, and hunted him back into the warm room, much impressed and delighted by his implicit obedience to his father.  With Lucy and Sophy, his remaining seemed likewise to make a great sensation; they looked at Mrs. Kendal and whispered, and were evidently curious as to the result of her audacity.  Albinia, who had grown up with her brother Maurice and cousin Frederick, was more used to boys than to girls, and was already more at ease with her son than her daughters.

Gilbert lent a ready hand with hammer and chisel, and boxes were opened, to the great delight and admiration of the girls.  They were all very happy and busy setting things to rights, but Albinia was in difficulty how to bestow her books.  There was an unaccountable scarcity both of books and book-cases; none were to be seen except that, in a chiffoniere in the drawing-room, there was a row in gilded bindings, chiefly Pope, Gray, and the like; and one which Albinia took out had pages which stuck together, a little pale blue string, faded at the end, and in the garlanded fly-leaf the inscription, ’To Miss Lucy Meadows, the reward of good conduct, December 20th, 1822.’  The book seemed rather surprised at being opened, and Albinia let it close itself as Lucy said, ’Those are poor mamma’s books, all the others are in the study.  Come in, and I’ll show you.’

She threw open the door, and Albinia entered.  The study was shaded with a mass of laurels that kept out the sun, and made it look chill and sad, and the air in it was close.  The round library-table was loaded with desks, pocket-books, and papers, the mantelpiece was covered with letters, and book-shelves mounted to the ceiling, filled with the learned and the poetical of new and old times.