"I have great
hope from the air of this place," he remarked, in conclusion. "The
Iodine, as I have already observed, does wonders."
Mrs. Lecount acknowledged the virtues of Iodine, in the briefest
possible form of words, and withdrew into the innermost sanctuary of her
own thoughts. "Some mystery here," said the housekeeper to herself.
"A lady who looks the picture of health; a lady who suffers from a
complicated nervous malady; and a lady whose hand is steady enough to
use her needle and thread--is a living mass of contradictions I don't
quite understand. Do you make a long stay at Aldborough, sir?" she
added aloud, her eyes resting for a moment, in steady scrutiny, on the
captain's face.
"It all depends, my dear madam, on Mrs. Bygrave. I trust we shall stay
through the autumn. You are settled at Sea-view Cottage, I presume, for
the season?"
"You must ask my master, sir. It is for him to decide, not for me."
The answer was an unfortunate one. Noel Vanstone had been secretly
annoyed by the change in the walking arrangements, which had separated
him from Magdalen. He attributed that change to the meddling influence
of Mrs. Lecount, and he now took the earliest opportunity of resenting
it on the spot.
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