Margaret Maliphant

								

in his hand.
"This is for the Manor, captain," said he. "Shall I put it in the
carriage?"
"No, no, thank you," answered our new friend. "The squire will be
driving over one of these days and will fetch it."
This settled the question for me.
"Captain!"
There was something so much more romantic about a captain than about
a plain mister. And such a captain! I had met captains before at the
Volunteer ball, but not like this one. It did not occur to me for a
moment that if the gentleman was a friend of the squire's he must needs
belong to the class which I thought I abhorred, and therefore should
not be a suitable lover for my sister. I was too much fascinated by the
individual to remember the class. Joyce looked at me for help.
"I don't know what to say, I'm sure," murmured she.
The horse began to fidget again at being kept so long standing. There
could be no possible objection to a friend of the squire's driving us
over.
"Thank you," said I, trying to be cool and dignified and not at all
eager. "If you would be so kind as to drive us, I shall be very much
obliged to you." And turning to the shop-boy I added, "Put the parcel
into the carriage."
I do not know what the captain must have thought of my sudden change of
manner; I did not stop to consider. I jumped to the ground before he
had time to help me, and began to let down the back seat of the cart.
"No, no; don't leave the horse," cried I, as he came round to the back
to help me. "I know how to do this perfectly well. Do get up. Joyce is
so very nervous."
"As you like," said he, still smiling; and he got up beside Joyce.
In a moment I had fixed the seat and jumped into it, and we started
off at a smart trot down the village street. Joyce was not entirely
reassured, although vanity prevented her from openly expressing her
alarm, as she would have done if I had been at her side. She sat
holding on to the cart, with lips parted and eyes fixed on the horse's
ears. I had turned round a little on the seat so that I could see her,
and I thought that she looked very lovely. I thought Captain Forrester
must be of the same mind; but I think he had not much time to look
at her just then--the mare kept his hands full. We rattled down the
hill over the cobble-stones and out of the town. Soon its red roofs,
crowned by the square tower of the ancient church at its summit, were
only a feature in the landscape, which I watched gradually mellowing
into the white background as I sat with my back to the others. Before
long I was lost in one of what father would have called my brown
studies, and quite forgot to notice whether the two in front of me were
getting on well together or not. The vague dream that I had always
had about my sister's future was beginning to take shape--it unrolled
itself slowly before me in a sweet and delightful picture, to which
the fair scene before me imparted life and brilliancy as the sense