allow of her
admitting the truth of any such assurance as this.

"I know," she said; "I know. And when I read them words in the
newspaper I said to the gudeman there, we shall have bridecake from
the cottage now before Christmas."

"For the matter of that, so you shall," said Luke, shaking hands with
her as he went, "or the fault will not be mine."

Rachel, as she followed her mother out from the farmyard gate, had
not a word to say. Could it have been possible she would have wished
to remain silent for the remainder of the evening and for the night,
so that she might have time to think of this thing which she had
done, and to enjoy the full measure of her happiness. Hitherto she
had hardly had any joy in her love. The cup had been hardly given to
her to drink before it had been again snatched away, and since then
she had been left to think that the draught for which she longed
would never again be offered to her lips. The whole affair had now
been managed so suddenly, and the action had been so quick, that she
had hardly found a moment for thought. Could it be that things were
so fixed that there was no room for further disappointment? She had
been scalded so cruelly that she still feared the hot water. Her
heart was sore with the old hurt, as the head that has ached will be
still sore when the actual malady has passed away. She longed for
hours of absolute quiet, in which she might make herself sure that
her malady had also passed away, and that the soreness which remained
came only from the memory of former pain. But there was no such
perfect rest within her reach as yet.

"Will you tell her or shall I?" said Mrs. Ray, pausing for a moment
at the cottage gate.

"You had better tell her, mamma."

"I suppose she won't set herself against it; will she?"

"I hope not, mamma. I shall think her very ill-natured if she does.
But it can't make any real difference now, you know."

"No; it can't make any difference. Only it will be so uncomfortable."

Then with half-frightened, muffled steps they entered their own
house, and joined Mrs. Prime in the sitting-room.

Mrs. Prime was still reading the serious book; but I am bound to say
that her mind had not been wholly intent upon it during the long
absence of her mother and sister. She had struggled for a time to
ignore the slight fact that her companions were away gossiping with
the neighbouring farmer's wife; she had made a hard fight with her
book, pinning her eye