He knew who she was;
this must be Honnor Cunyngham, Lady Adela's sister-in-law; and of course
he did not wish to intrude on the young lady's privacy; he would try to
pass by behind her unobserved, though here the strath narrowed until it
was almost a defile.
He was soon relieved from all anxiety. Sharper eyes than his own had
perceived him. The young lady wheeled round; glanced at him for a
second; turned again; and then a thin, tall, old man, who had hitherto
been invisible to him, rose from his concealment among the rocks close
to her and came along the river bank. He was a very handsome old man,
this superannuated keeper, with his keen, aquiline nose, his clear, gray
eyes, and frosted hair.
"Miss Honnor says will you hef a cast, sir? There's some clouds will be
over soon."
"Oh, no, thank you, I could not dream of interrupting her," Lionel said;
and then it occurred to him that he ought to go and thank the young lady
herself for this frank invitation. "I--I'll go along and tell her so."
As he walked towards her he kept his eye, somewhat furtively, on her,
though now she had turned her back again; and all he could make out was
that she had a very elegant figure; that she was tall--though not so
tall as her three sisters-in-law; and that her abundant brown hair was
short and curly and kept close to her head, almost like a boy's.
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