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The white double rosebush had evidently been propped up anew against the house since the commencement of the season; and a pear-tree and three damson-trees, which, except a row of currant-bushes, constituted the only varieties of fruit, bore marks of the recent amputation of several superfluous or defective limbs.
But I never saw them in my life. 'The Hope Farm is not a stone's throw from here, said the officious landlord, going to the window. 'If you carry your eye over yon bed of hollyhocks, over the damson-trees in the orchard yonder, you may see a stack of queer-like stone chimneys. Them is the Hope Farm chimneys; it's an old place, though Holman keeps it in good order.
Very little fruit is grown; two or three to half a dozen apple- and damson-trees are called an orchard, and one is sorry for the children. But in late summer and autumn they get their fruit from the hedges.
And half-a-dozen damson-trees overshadowed the back of the cottage, their branches coquetting with the roof when the wind blew. Here the bridal party made a hearty dinner, and grew jolly and genial afterwards over several gallons of beer ordered from the "Good Woman" inn: a sign which represented a woman minus a head, and therefore silent.
There was silence for a while. "Was it rough riding?" she asked. "I didn't notice it." She continued quickly to lay the table. When she had finished "Tea won't be for a few minutes. Will you come and look at the daffodils?" she said. He rose without answering. They went out into the back garden under the budding damson-trees. The hills and the sky were clean and cold.
No one, in the Herefordshire orchards, masses the white cow-parsley in such profusion under the apple blossoms; or makes the whitewashed little damson-trees look so innocently responsible and charming on the edge of the brook over which the planks are laid for the hens. Delightful, in this picture, is the sense of the clean spring day, after rain, with the blue of the sky washed faint.
Phoebe, when she hung over the fountain by Clifford's side, could see nothing of all this, neither the beauty nor the ugliness, but only the colored pebbles, looking as if the gush of the waters shook and disarranged them. And the dark face, that so troubled Clifford, was no more than the shadow thrown from a branch of one of the damson-trees, and breaking the inner light of Maule's well.
Freely would make her an offer: perhaps down by the row of damson-trees, when they were in the garden before tea; perhaps by letter in which case, how would the letter begin? "Dearest Penelope?" or "My dear Miss Penelope?" or straight off, without dear anything, as seemed the most natural when people were embarrassed?
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