The old doctor was too cunning a man to fall into this trap.He would keep recommending her to try the coarsest viands on the table; and, at last, he told her if she could not fancy the cold beef to try a little with pickled onions.There was a twinkle in his eye as he said this, that would have betrayed his humour to any observer; but Mr Gibson, Cynthia, and Molly were all attacking Osborne on the subject of some literary preference he had expressed, and Dr Nicholls had Mrs Gibson quite at his mercy.She was not sorry when luncheon was over to leave the room to the three gentlemen;and ever afterwards she spoke of Dr Nicholls as 'that bear.' Presently, Osborne came upstairs, and, after his old fashion, began to take up new books, and to question the girls as to their music.Mrs Gibson had to go out and pay some calls, so she left the three together; and after a while they adjourned into the garden, Osborne lounging on a chair, while Molly employed herself busily in tying up carnations, and Cynthia gathered flowers in her careless, graceful way.'I hope you notice the difference in our occupations, Mr Hamley.Molly, you see, devotes herself to the useful, and I to the ornamental.Please, under what head do you class what you are doing? I think you might help one of us, instead of looking on like the Grand Seigneur.' 'I don't know what I can do,' said he, rather plaintively.'I should like to be useful, but I don't know how; and my day is past for purely ornamental work.You must let me be, I am afraid.Besides, I am really rather exhausted by being questioned and pulled about by those good doctors.' 'Why, you don't mean to say they have been attacking you since lunch!'
exclaimed Molly.'Yes; indeed, they have; and they might have gone on till now if Mrs Gibson had not come in opportunely.' 'I thought mamma had gone out some time ago!' said Cynthia, catching wafts of the conversation as she flitted hither and thither among the flowers.'She came into the dining-room not five minutes ago.Do you want her, for I see her crossing the hall at this very moment?' and Osborne half rose.'Oh, not at all!' said Cynthia.'Only she seemed to be in such a hurry to go out, I fancied she had set off long ago.She had some errand to do for Lady Cumnor, and she thought she could manage to catch the housekeeper, who is always in the town on Thursday.' 'Are the family coming to the Towers this autumn?' 'I believe so.But I don't know, and I don't much care.They don't take kindly to me,' continued Cynthia, 'and so I suppose I am not generous enough to take kindly to them.' 'I should have thought that such a very unusual blot in their discrimination would have interested you in them as extraordinary people,' said Osborne, with a little air of conscious gallantry.'Isn't that a compliment?' said Cynthia, after a pause of mock meditation.
'If any one pays me a compliment, please let it be short and clear.I'm very stupid at finding out hidden meanings.' 'Then such speeches as "you are very pretty," or "you have charming manners,"are what you prefer.Now, I pique myself on wrapping up my sugar-plums delicately.' 'Then would you please to write them down, and at my leisure I'll parse them.' 'No! It would be too much trouble.I'll meet you half way, and study clearness next time.' 'What are you two talking about?' said Molly, resting on her light spade.'It's only a discussion on the best way of administering compliments,'
said Cynthia, taking up her flower-basket again, but not going out of the reach of the conversation.'I don't like them at all in any way,' said Molly.'But, perhaps, it's rather sour grapes with me,' she added.'Nonsense!' said Osborne.'Shall I tell you what I heard of you at the ball?' 'Or shall I provoke Mr Preston,' said Cynthia, 'to begin upon you? It is like turning a tap, such a stream of pretty speeches flow out at the moment.'
Her lip curled with scorn.'For you, perhaps,' said Molly; 'but not for me.' 'For any woman.It is his notion of making himself agreeable.If you dare me, Molly, I will try the experiment, and you'll see with what success.' 'No, don't, pray!' said Molly, in a hurry.'I do so dislike him!' 'Why?' said Osborne, roused to a little curiosity by her vehemence.'Oh! I don't know.He never seems to know what one is feeling.' 'He wouldn't care if he did know,' said Cynthia.'And he might know he is not wanted,' 'If he chooses to stay, he cares little whether he is wanted or not.' 'Come, this is very interesting,' said Osborne.'It is like the strophe and anti-strophe in a Greek chorus.Pray, go on.' 'Don't you know him?' asked Molly.'Yes, by sight, and I think we were once introduced.But, you know, we are much farther from Ashcombe, at Hamley, than you are here, at Hollingford.' 'Oh! but he is coming to take Mr Sheepshanks' place, and then he will live here altogether,' said Molly.'Molly! who told you that?' said Cynthia, in quite a different tone of voice to that in which she had been speaking hitherto.'Papa, didn't you hear him? Oh, no! it was before you were down this morning.
Papa met Mr Sheepshanks yesterday, and he told him it was all settled:
you know we heard a rumour about it in the spring!' Cynthia was very silent after this.Presently, she said that she had gathered all the flowers she wanted, and that the heat was so great she would go indoors.And then Osborne went away.But Molly had set herself a task to dig up such roots as had already flowered, and to put down some bedding-out plants in their stead.Tired and heated as she was she finished it, and then went upstairs to rest, and change her dress.According to her wont, she sought for Cynthia; there was no reply to her soft knock at the bedroom-door opposite to her own, and, thinking that Cynthia might have fallen asleep, and be lying uncovered in the draught of the open window, she went in softly.
