He had been hidden by the gorse bushes from Rhoda
till the moment before he started up. And she would have shyly hurried on
without speaking to him if the sound of her step had not made him look
round.
She hurriedly explained how she came to be there alone. "I don't think
they will be back for an hour or more," she said, looking at the white
ribbon of road Tom had been watching for so long. "The high road is much
longer than the lane, isn't it?"
"Yes," said Tom briefly. He had forgotten all about the traction engine.
In fact, he had hardly understood what Rhoda was saying. His heart was
heavy within him.
They turned and walked down the sunny bit of slope, where the bees were
busy among the golden gorse blossoms. Tom was not silent. He could not
trust himself to be silent. He began to speak of the meeting he had just
been attending at Croydon. He gave Rhoda a vivid account of it, which
lasted till they got close to the house; then, with a hasty excuse of
having forgotten to tell Jackson something, he left her.
Rhoda walked on to the house with a calm, even step. Wilmot, who met her
in the hall, and told her that Miss Merivale was lying down and did not
wish to be disturbed, noticed nothing unusual about her. She stood and
talked some minutes with the old servant before going upstairs to her
room.
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