They were trembling with anger and sorrow. In a moment such a great
event had happened, one utterly unconceived of, and unprepared for. Half
an hour previous, the unhappy mother had dreaded the breaking away from
her old life, and had declined to discuss with Charlotte any plan
tending to such a consummation. Then, suddenly, she had taken a step
more decided and unusual than had ever entered Charlotte's mind.
The footpath through the park was very wet and muddy. Every branch
dropped water. They were a little frightened at what they were doing,
and their hearts were troubled by many complex emotions. But fortunately
the walk was a short one, and the shortest way to the rectory lay
directly through the churchyard. Without a word Mrs. Sandal took it; and
without a word she turned aside at a certain point, and through the
long, rank, withered grasses walked straight to the squire's grave. It
was yet quite bare; the snow had melted away, and it had a look as
desolate as her own heart. She stood a few minutes speechless by its
side; but the painfully tight clasp in which she held Charlotte's hand
expressed better than any words could have done the tension of feeling,
the passion of emotion, which dominated her. And Charlotte felt that
silence was her mother's safety. If she spoke, she would weep, perhaps
break down completely, and be unable to reach the shelter of the
rectory.
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