had not presumed to
laugh at her.

CHAPTER V
A Sunday of Excitement

Strangers in court do take her for the queen.--Shakespeare

The first Sunday of Julius Charnock's ministry was spent in an
unexpected manner. In the darkness of the autumn morning there was
a knock at the door, and a low hurried call in Anne's voice at the
bedroom door: "Rosamond! Julius, pray look out! Isn't there a
great fire somewhere?"

"Fire! Here?" cried Rosamond, springing up.

"No, not here. A great way off. You could beat it back."

Rosamond had by this time rushed to the window which looked out the
wrong way, found her dressing-gown, and scrambled into it in the
dark ere joining Anne in the gallery, from the end window of which
the lurid light in the sky, with an occasional flame leaping up, was
plainly visible. When Julius joined them he declared it to be at
Willansborough, and set off to call up the coachman and despatch the
fire-engine, his wife calling after him to send for the soldiers at
Backsworth.

Frank and Charlie came rushing down in gratified excitement,
declaring that it was tremendous--the church at least--and exulting
in the attainment of their life-long ambition, the riding out on the
fire-engine. Servants bustled about, exclaiming, tramping, or
whisking on the stairs; and Raymond presently appeared to ask
whether his mother were ill, and, when reassured on that score,
hurrying to ascertain whether she were alarmed, before he started
for the scene of action.

"Let me come and stay with her," said Rosamond, a striking figure,
in a scarlet dressing-gown, with a thick plait of black hair hanging
down to her waist on either side.

"Thank you, it will be very kind," said Raymond, running down before
her, and meeting Susan waddling out in a fringe of curl-papers, for
some mysterious instinct or echo had conveyed to her and her
mistress that there was fire somewhere--perhaps at home. Mrs.
Poynsett was not a nervous woman, and from the time she saw her
eldest son come in, all fright was over, and she could have borne to
hear that the house over her head was burning, in the perfect trust
that he would save her from all peril; nor had he any difficulty in
committing her to Rosamond, when he hurried away to finish dressing
and repair to the spot.

Nothing could be seen from her room, but the little ante-room
between it and the drawing-room had an excellent view, as the ground
fell away from it, and there