I have been very little out of
London for some years, but I hope now to see more of the country. This is a
beautiful place.'
At that moment he met Mrs. Bentley's eyes, and, feeling that he was
touching on delicate ground, he stopped speaking. When he turned his head,
he met Miss Watson's great sad eyes, which seemed to absorb the entire
face, fixed upon him. They expressed such depth of pathetic appeal that he
trembled with apprehension, and the instinct in him was to beg for pardon.
But it became suddenly necessary to say something, and, speaking at random,
his head full of whirling words, he said--
'Of course nothing could be more sad than my poor uncle's death,--so
unexpected... Having lived so long together, you must have----' Then it was
Hubert's turn to look appealingly at Miss Watson; but her great eyes seemed
to say, 'Go on, go on; heap cruelty on cruelty!' Then he plunged
desperately, hoping to retrieve his mistakes. 'He died about a month ago.
Mr. Grandly told me I should still find you here, so I thought----'
The intensity of his emotion perhaps caused Hubert to accentuate his words,
so that they conveyed a meaning different from that which he intended.
Certainly his hesitations were capable of misinterpretation, and Miss
Watson said, her voice trembling,--
'Of course we know we have no right here, we are intruding; but we are
making preparations.
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