The Argosy — page 105: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

g2 The White Witch. “What did you say her name was?” returned Jane Wilding quickly. ‘* Dixon!” “Yes. Mrs. Dixon. Why? Did you ever know her when you were abroad ?” “No,” carelessly replied Jane. ‘‘ I never knew any Mrs. Dixon.” She turned the conversation to something else : and the band struck up again, When Godfrey and his companion came back to the place where they had left Mrs. Mayne, she was nowhere to be seen. They looked for her, in the crowd and out of it. Elspeth was anxious; Godfrey took it coolly. ‘““She is sure to come back here soon,” said he. ‘“ Let us sit down and listen to the music.” They sat down, and at first the time passed not unpleasantly. But when Mrs. Mayne did not return, poor Elspeth began to get nervous and uneasy as she saw the people she knew look at her, surprised, as she fancied, to see her so long with no companion but Godfrey. She was very young and very innocent, unused to the world, and her parents were very strict. So she did the most unwise thing she could do, by insisting that they should go into the grounds and look for Mrs. Mayne. Godfrey entered a protest; but the tears were evidently so near to her pretty blue eyes that he gave way, and they started upon what he felt was a wild-goose chase. The consequence was that they did not meet Mrs. Mayne and Matilda until nearly an hour after the time at which they had promised to be back at home. “IT can’t think how it happened, dear child. I only went outside for a few minutes with Mrs. Mansfield, and then we walked about listening to the music. I thought you must have joined your cousins, and gave up looking for you. Never mind: we will make haste home, now: you won't be very late, after all.” But when, after taking the girls home, Mrs. Mayne drove to the Abbey with Godfrey, she broke into a grievance against the Vicar’s wife : gts | ‘She makes quite an absurd fuss about trifles! You saw what a fever of anxiety she was in because they were late. If the girls are silly enough to tell her about our missing each other, Elspeth will get as severe a lecture as if she had done something wicked.” ‘‘T hope Elspeth will tell, though,” said Godfrey, drily. ‘“‘Women should be straightforward. If I had the misfortune to marry a girl who was perpetually telling me small stories, I really think I should beat her.” ‘She would tell you big ones after that,” said Mrs, Mayne, placidly. And if he had had any intention of confounding her by this speech, Godfrey must have felt that he had signally failed. At dinner, Mr. Mayne, who had not cared to go to the flower- show, asked them full particulars. Mrs. Mayne praised the beauty Eomichbooks.co nN a ee