But here, was a matter which a clergyman
must settle for her once and for all; so she put on a slight air of
dignity which became her very well, and a little after four o'clock
the Victoria turned up the steep little drive that led to the
Vicarage.
III
Thee dusk was already fallen before Laurie, strolling vaguely in the
garden, heard the carriage wheels draw up at the gate outside.
He had ridden again alone, and his mind had run, to a certain extent,
as might be expected, upon the recent guest and her very startling
conversation. He was an intelligent young man, and he had not been in
the least taken in by her pseudo-mystical remarks. Yet there had been
something in her extreme assurance that had affected him, as a man may
smile sourly at a good story in bad taste. His attitude, in fact, was
that of most Christians under the circumstances. He did not, for an
instant, believe that such things really and literally happened, and
yet it was difficult to advance any absolutely conclusive argument
against them. Merely, they had not come his way; they appeared to
conflict with experience, and they usually found as their advocates
such persons as Mrs. Stapleton.
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