One Maid's Mischief Part 1

One Maid's Mischief.

by George Manville Fenn.

VOLUME ONE, CHAPTER ONE.

ONE OF HER VICTIMS.

Seven o'clock in the morning, and _chee-op--chee-op--chee-op--chirrup-- pee-yew_--a splendid thrush waking the echoes with his loud notes; the blackbirds down in the copse whistling a soft love-song to their silent mates, waiting in their cup-like nests for the first chip of the blotched eggs; Coelebs, the chaffinch, pouring down tinkling strains from the pink-blossomed apple-trees; while the larks high above the young corn and clover, twittered their joyous hymn in rivalling accord to the May-morning sun. The dew lay heavy and cold upon the tawny, sweet-scented wallflowers, and the freshness of feeling in the shade whispered that the silvery whiteness of their hues was not far removed from frost.

So thought the Reverend Arthur Rosebury, as he stood contemplating the flower-beds in front of the quaint old Rectory, whose windows were framed in the opening blossoms of a huge snaky-stemmed wistaria, one of which windows--his own--was wide open, and had been for an hour, while its fellow over the little drawing-room was delicately draped in snowy dimity.

Geraniums formed the subject of the Reverend Arthur's contemplation as he stood upon the closely-shaven, dewy lawn; and he had just come to the conclusion that he had better wait another week before filling his beds with the scarlet trusses, when there was the sharp sound of bra.s.s rings upon a rod. The dimity curtains were drawn aside, the cas.e.m.e.nt window was opened and carefully hooked back, and the kit-cat living portrait of a pleasant plump little woman of about forty appeared in the frame.

"Arthur, I'm sure you are getting your feet wet," she chirped.

The tall, very thin curate of Little Magnus looked dreamily up at the window, and then down at his feet, stooping a good deal to obtain a nearer view. Slowly rising, he looked up at the window again, took off his soft felt hat, smoothed his thin grey hair, and said slowly:

"No, my dear, I think not."

"But I'm sure you must be, Arthur; it's a very heavy dew?" cried the little lady, emphatically.

"Yes, my dear Mary," he replied, in a slow, deprecating way, "it is a very heavy dew, but I have got on my goloshes."

"Ho!" exclaimed the little lady, and she disappeared.

The Reverend Arthur Rosebury began to make a peculiar humming noise, somewhat suggestive of a large b.u.mble-bee trying to practise a chant, which was his idea of singing, and was walking slowly off towards a laurel-shaded walk when the little lady once more appeared at the window.

"Arthur!"

"Yes, my dear Mary?"

"Don't you go far away; breakfast won't be long."

"No, my dear Mary."

"Where shall you be?"

"Down by the bees."

"You'll come when I whistle?"

"Yes, my dear Mary."

The lady disappeared once more, and the curate of Little Magnus went slowly and deliberately down the garden of the Rectory, where he had been for many years resident; the wealthy rector, who was a canon of Dunchester, finding a sermon or two a year nearly all he could give to the little parish.

The bees were visited, both those dwelling in the round-topped, old-fas.h.i.+oned straw hives and the occupants of the modern square boxes, cunningly contrived to enable the proprietor to commit honied burglaries without adding bee-murder to the offence.

The bees were as busy as those immortalised by Dr Watts, and coming and going in the bright suns.h.i.+ne, making a glorious hum in a snowy cherry-tree close at hand, and suggesting to the curate's mind ample supplies of the cloying sweet, about five hundredweights of which he hoped to sell at a s.h.i.+lling a pound.

The Reverend Arthur went slowly away, smiling in his heart--he rarely smiled visibly--happy and thankful for his lot; opened the white gate in the tall green hedge, and after closing it carefully, began to walk across the drenched gra.s.s, a couple of soft-eyed, mousy-skinned Alderney cows slowly raising their heads to stare at him, munching the gra.s.s the while, and then coming to meet him, lowing softly.

"Ah, Dewnose! Ah, Bessy," he said, pulling the great flapping ears of each in turn, and inhaling the puffs of warm, sweet-scented breath as he pa.s.sed, the cows watching him for a few moments, and then, evidently thinking fresh dewy gra.s.s preferable to the best of curates, they resumed their quiet "crop crop" of the verdant meal.

The meadow crossed, another gate led back into the garden, where a long gla.s.s-house stood with open door inviting the Reverend Arthur to enter and breathe the warm, deliciously-scented air. The sun was s.h.i.+ning brightly and came in a shower of rays upon the red-bricked floor, broken up as it were by the silvery shoots of the vines whose leaves were fringed with drops of pearly dew.

A glance at the leafy roof displayed so much attention needed that the Reverend Arthur, after a little contemplation and a few moral comparisons between the wild growth of the vine and that of the young and old of the parish, slowly took off his coat, lifted a heavy plank and placed it across two of the iron rafter-ties of the building; and after satisfying himself of its safety, mounting a pair of steps, climbing on to the plank, and seating himself in a very unclerical att.i.tude, he began to snap off the redundant branches of the vine.

"Chirrup!" went a shrill whistle as the first branch was snapped, but the Reverend Arthur heard it not, and in a rapt, dreamy manner went on snapping off at their joints branch after branch just beyond where the young bunches of grapes were beginning to show.

"Chirrup!" went the whistle again, but still unheard, for the Reverend Arthur had just placed one of the succulent branches he had broken off between his lips, and, as if imitating the ways of Dewnose and Bessy, he was sedately munching away at the pleasant acid growth.

"Chirrup!" again, but this time in another direction, and, perfectly unconscious of the summons, the Reverend Arthur went on with his pruning, breakfasting the while off the tender acid shoots.

Chirrup after chirrup mingled with the songs of the birds, and at last the bustling little figure of the lady lately seen at the Rectory window appeared at the door.

"Why, here you are Arthur!" she exclaimed. "What a shame it is! You said you'd be down by the bees."

"I'm--I'm very sorry, my dear Mary," said the guilty truant, with a look of appeal in his face.

"That's what you always say, sir, and here is the ham getting cold, the eggs will be quite hard, and I've got my feet soaking wet running all over the place."

"I really am very sorry, my dear Mary," said the Reverend Arthur, slowly descending from his perch.

"I never did see such a man," cried the little lady, with her pleasant face a droll mixture of vexation and good-humour.

As she spoke she took up the curate's long coat, and held it ready for him to put on, tip-toeing to enable him to thrust his long thin arms into the sleeves, and then tip-toeing a little more to reach up and give him a hearty kiss.

"There, I won't be very cross," she cried, "only there never was such a thoughtless, tiresome man before. Just look at your hands!"

"It's only vine-juice, my dear Mary," he said, looking at his long thin fingers in turn.

"Well, come along. You will have time to go and wash them while I change my shoes and stockings. Just look there."

Miss Mary Rosebury made no hesitation about drawing her grey cloth dress aside to display a very prettily-shaped pair of feet and ankles, soaked with dew and muddied by the garden paths, before taking her brother, as it were, into custody and leading him up to the house.

Five minutes later they were in the prettily-furnished dining-room, before a most temptingly spread breakfast-table, where everything was clean and neat as the home of an old bachelor, tended by a maiden sister, might be expected to be. There were flowers and hand-painted screens; the linen was snowy white, and the eggs, and b.u.t.ter, and cream were as delicious as the coffee.

The morning prayers were read in presence of Cook and Jane; then the coffee was poured out in a dark amber stream, and for the first time the Reverend Arthur smiled.

"Really, my dear Mary," he said, "I don't think any two people could be happier than we are."

"Than we should be if you would not do such foolish things, Arthur,"

said the little lady, sharply.

"Foolish things, my dear?" he replied, rather blankly.

"Yes, foolish things. I don't mind your being so fond of your garden and natural history, but it doesn't look becoming for you to come back as you did yesterday, with a bunch of weeds in one hand, a bundle of mosses in the other, and your hat pinned all over with b.u.t.terflies. The people think you half mad."