"I am sorry for that," said Miss Jane. "I charged him to use no violence towards the young man."

"Lord bless you, marm," answered the dame, "our Jacob is as gentle as a lamb. I don't think he could use violence towards any man, though to be sure if he had fallen in with that impudent young chap he would have given him a pretty sound drubbing."

"I fear that your son's style of drubbing would be a pretty strong act of violence," observed Miss Jane. "Judging from the appearance of his arm, it possesses sufficient strength to fell an ox, and one blow from it might injure the youth for life."

"I don't doubt but that our Jacob could hit pretty hard if his spirit was up," observed the dame with a smile of maternal pride. "I cannot say, however, but what I am glad he didn't find young Gaffin."

"One thing is certain, we must not let our May run the chance of being spoken to again by this young fellow. If he is stopping at the inn he probably will not remain long in the place, and she will soon be able to go to and fro from your house as usual. Indeed, I hope from the proper way she treated him that he will not again make the attempt to speak to her."

"Fellows of his sort are not so easily put down as you may suppose, Miss Jane, and if he is the miller's son, he may be as audacious as he is impudent," observed the dame.

"Whatever he is, we will take good care that he has no opportunity of exhibiting his audacity," said Miss Pemberton; "and I beg that you will charge your son to take no further notice of the affair. If your husband could see the young man and warn him of the consequences of his conduct, he might induce him to behave properly in future. Now you will like to see May."

Miss Jane went out, and sent May into the room.

The dame received her with a warm embrace, but as the subject of young Gaffin was a disagreeable one, she did not speak much about it.

"Have you told the ladies about the grand doings to take place at Texford?" asked the dame.

May confessed that she had forgotten all about it.

"Then while I am here I will just put in a word. A little change will do you good, and if I tell them I'll keep you by my side all the time, I don't think they will object."

"We will think about it," was Miss Jane's answer, when the dame told her. "I am not an admirer of fetes and fantastic worldly doings such as I conclude will take place at Texford. I fear there is more harm done than pleasure obtained."

"The scene may amuse her, as she has seen nothing of the sort," observed Miss Mary. "Far be it from me to countenance even indirectly the follies of worldly people, but as this fete is intended to afford amus.e.m.e.nt to the tenantry and labourers, it must be kindly meant, and if May herself desires to accompany Dame Halliburt, I think that we ought not to deny her the amus.e.m.e.nt."

"Thank you," said May, simply. "I should like to go, very much."

The dame returned home satisfied that May was not likely to receive any further annoyance from young Gaffin, and well pleased that there would be no difficulty about her attending the fete.

Jacob arrived in the evening at Downside with a basket of sh.e.l.ls. May could not help asking him whether he had seen young Gaffin, and again entreated him not to interfere.

"I have not seen him, but I know where he is," answered Jacob; "and I don't think he will show his nose outside the house without having me at his heels."

Every day before going off for the night's fishing in the _Nancy_, Jacob managed to find time to get up to Downside.

He would have been a bold man who would have ventured to encounter the young fisherman with any intention of annoying Maiden May. Honest love, when the object loved is to be benefited, wonderfully sharpens the wits.

Jacob, who would never have thought of such a thing under other circ.u.mstances, had set a boy to watch the inn, and bring him word of Miles's movements. When he was away, the lad was to inform his mother.

Miles, either in obedience to his father's directions, or because he had found out that he was watched, kept himself a prisoner, and did not venture beyond the precincts of the garden at the back of the house, where he spent most of the day sauntering up and down, smoking his pipe, and forming plans for winning the young lady in spite of the obstacles in his way. Though unable to appreciate any higher qualities, he had been really struck by her beauty, and was as much in love as it was in his nature to be. He was thus perfectly ready to enter into any scheme which his father might propose for gaining her, either by fair means or foul.

"I would not hurt her feelings if I could help it," he said to himself; "but I am pretty sure I have a rival in that young fellow Halliburt. I guessed that when she took his arm and ran off from me. She knows well enough that he is not her brother, though they have been brought up together, and girls are generally apt to admire those big, st.u.r.dy-looking chaps who have done them a service, more than well-dressed, gentlemanly young men like myself," and Miles glanced approvingly on his new and fashionable costume. "If she still turns a cold eye upon me that worthy dad of mine must manage to get the young fisherman out of the way--it won't do to have him interfering--and with a clear stage I shall not have insuperable difficulties to overcome, I flatter myself."

Still Miles had to remain inactive some days longer. At last he received a note from his father telling him to go, if he pleased, to the fete at Texford, and simply state, if asked, that he was the son of a tenant, saying that he was spending a few days at Hurlston, and had come instead of his father, who was unable to attend. "I find that Dame Halliburt is going, and I have no doubt she will take her daughter, as she calls her, with her," he added. "You will thus have an opportunity of meeting the girl under more favourable circ.u.mstances than before, and if you mind your P's and Q's it will be your own fault if you do not work yourself into her good graces."

Miles received this communication with intense satisfaction. Having a thoroughly good opinion of himself, he had now little doubt that he should succeed in his enterprise.

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.

THE FETE AT TEXFORD.

No summer's day could be more bright and lovely than that on which the fete at Texford took place. Visitors of high and low degree--for it was to be a meeting of all cla.s.ses--were seen at an early hour moving along the roads from every direction towards the park, some in carriages, some on horseback, others in light tilted waggons and carts, and no inconsiderable number on foot.

The distance between Hurlston and Texford was upwards of two miles by the road, but the inhabitants of the village could enjoy a pleasanter and much shorter path across the fields.

The dame arrived at Downside in good time to escort May. She to the last felt some hesitation, however, about going, as it was evident that Miss Jane was doubtful as to the propriety of the proceeding, but Miss Mary, with whom she had discussed the subject over and over again, always concluded with the remark that though it might be dangerous to trust a gay and a giddy girl in such a scene, their steady and sensible May was not likely in consequence to gain a taste for the frivolities of the world, and that, as she had never seen anything of the sort, she could not fail to be amused, while, from her unremitting attention to them, she certainly deserved a holiday. May, not to appear out of place while in company with the good fishwife, had dressed herself in a costume as much as possible like that which a well-to-do fisherman's daughter would wear; and although she had not intended to produce any such effect, her neat straw hat and cloak set her beauty off to even greater advantage.

Adam, who had with the dame's earnest persuasion consented to accompany her, waited outside. Jacob, strange to say, had declined accompanying his mother and May. He had work to attend to on board the _Nancy_, and had no fancy for jigging about with the girls of the village, while May did not intend to join in the revels. Jacob, indeed, felt that he should be out of place. He knew that it would not do to be seen standing near his mother and May all the time, and he should take no pleasure in wandering about away from them.

May was perhaps relieved when she heard that Jacob was not coming.

Although she regarded him with esteem for his honesty and bravery, and his devotion to her, she felt instinctively that the less he was in her society, the better for him.

"You will come home early," said Miss Jane, as she wished her good-bye; "and you will keep to your resolution in not mixing with the throng more than you can help."

"You must tell me all that takes place when you come back," said Miss Mary. "If you see Miss Castleton and her brothers, and you will scarcely fail to do so, I shall like to hear all about them. Julia must have grown into a tall young lady, and Harry and Algernon into full-grown men. I shall be interested in hearing what Harry is like especially; he was a great favourite of mine when a boy. He has now become a fine gallant officer. I wish I could let him know how much I should like to see him; for although Sir Ralph and Lady Castleton have been so inattentive, we should not, therefore, feel the less regard for their son, and I am sure he would not hesitate to come, if he remembered that we are here."

This was said in the presence of the dame.

"If I have a chance of speaking to Mr Harry, I will tell him," she said. "I will remind him how he saved our Maiden May from the bull, and maybe he will remember Adam and me, and come up and speak to us, as he won't have forgotten his trip in the _Nancy_, though he is not likely to wish to take another."

"Tell him, then, that we hope to see him," said Miss Mary.

The dame promised to deliver the message.

When the dame and her companions arrived at Texford, she remarked that the appearance of the place was totally changed. There stood the house, certainly, as usual, but the park looked like a huge fair. There were numerous booths and tents in all directions, and swings and roundabouts, targets for archery, courses marked off for running races, arrangements for the old game of quintain, for Sir Ralph was somewhat of an antiquarian, and wished to re-introduce it. There were three bands of music, the best stationed near the house, and the others at, a sufficient distance not to interfere with it. A band of Morris dancers had been arranged by Sir Ralph's desire, and there were a couple of jugglers who went about performing feats which greatly astonished the rustics. As May and her friends pa.s.sed along the lake, they saw a number of boats which had been brought there from Morbury, that races and other aquatic sports might be indulged in. Indeed, everything had been prepared which could possibly be thought of for affording amus.e.m.e.nt to the a.s.semblage.

The sports on the lake were to be, as the dame suspected, under the charge of Mr Harry and his naval friend, Captain Headland, who were, however, both too energetic not to take a part in everything that was going forward.

The guests of higher degree were already a.s.sembling on the broad steps or the gravel walk in front of the house, when the dame and May found themselves among the crowd of tenants and others on the lawn, who felt that it would be disrespectful until invited to approach the neighbourhood of their betters.

Mr Grooc.o.c.k was going about attending to the multifarious duties imposed on him. Though he was as active as ever, his task appeared to give him more trouble than pleasure.

"Glad to see you, dame, and Miss May and friend Adam," he said, as he once pa.s.sed close to where they were standing.

"Thank you, Mr Grooc.o.c.k. It's a beautiful sight," observed the dame, in reply.

"Well enough," answered the steward, "but the work it imposes is more suited to young limbs, than to mine," and he pa.s.sed on to give some directions.

The signal for the sports to begin was now given, and a large portion of the people collected were soon engaged according to their tastes--some dancing, some running races, others amusing themselves with the various games, and others witnessing the feats of the jugglers, or looking on at the pantomimic performances of the Morris dancers.

It required some exertion, however, of the directors of the fete to set the guests in motion, or to keep them entertained in the variety of ways which had been prepared for their amus.e.m.e.nt. Among the most active who were thus engaged were Harry Castleton and his friend Headland, it being more in accordance with Algernon's taste to devote himself to the guests of higher degree.

"I must go and get yonder crowd of rustics under weigh again," Harry observed to Headland, on seeing a number of people standing idle near one of the spots devoted to dancing.

Dame Halliburt and her companions had taken up a position not far off it, on a gra.s.sy mound under the shade of a tree, where, a little removed from the crowd, they could observe all that was going forward. Harry was pa.s.sing by when he saw the dame, who had recognised him, following him with her eyes. It is possible that at the same time he may have caught sight of May's sweet countenance; at all events he stopped, and going up to the dame, said--