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But when the case was her own she was merely curious; such are the limitations of the writer of fiction. That there was a woman in it she did not believe for a moment. This, of course, did not prevent her saying, with a sob, "Wha is the woman?" With great earnestness Corp assured her that there was no woman. He even proved it: "Just listen to reason, Gavinia.
He ought to have minded telling her, for it could only add to her indignation; but he was too conceited to give weight to that. "Corp's leg was not broken," said practical Grizel. "I broke it for him," replied Tommy; and when he had explained, her eyes accused him of heartlessness. "If it had been my own," he said, in self-defence, "it should have gone crack just the same." "Poor Gavinia!
His power was gone, his crew would not listen to another word against Mr. McLean. "Tommy thought Mr. McLean hated you!" said Elspeth to Miss Ailie. "It was queer you made sic a mistake!" said Corp to Tommy. "Oh, the tattie-doolie!" cried Gavinia. So they knew that Mr. McLean had only been speaking sarcastically; of a sudden they saw through and despised their captain.
They were the words heard by Grizel as she entered. She also saw Gavinia looking admiringly at her man, and in that doleful moment she thought she understood all. It was Corp who had done it, and Tommy had been the looker-on. Everything was revealed to her in a flash, and she stooped over the baby to hide a sudden tear. She did not want to hear any more. The baby cried.
"I hankered after putting something out o' the Jacobites intil his name; and I says to Gavinia, 'Let's call him Thomas Sandys Stroke Shiach, says I, 'and the minister'll be nane the wiser'; but Gavinia was scandalized." Grizel reflected. "Corp," she said, "I am sure Gavinia's sister will expect to be asked to carry the baby. I don't think I want to do it."
I think it was simply this that Grizel no longer sat erect in her chair. "I'm nain easy in my mind about Grizel," he said that evening to Gavinia. "There's something queery about her, though I canna bottom 't." "Yea?" said Gavinia, with mild contempt. He continued pulling at his pipe, grunting as if in pleasant pain, which was the way Corp smoked.
Hearing talking in the kitchen Miss Ailie went along the passage to discover what company her maid kept; but before she reached the door, which was ajar, she turned as if she had heard something dreadful and hurried upstairs, signing to Mr. McLean, with imploring eyes, to follow her. This at once sent him to the kitchen door. Gavinia was alone.
You would have said that no one loved children quite so much as T. Sandys. But little Corp would not keep quiet, and suddenly Tommy jumped up and boxed his ears. He then proceeded with the reading, while Gavinia glowered and Corp senior scratched his head. On the way home he saw what had happened, and laughed at the humour of it, then grew depressed, then laughed recklessly.
If it did," he went on, "Commander Sandys will learn something to his advantage from a bottle that is to be cast into the ocean this evening." Gavinia thought she heard the chink of another five shillings, and her mouth opened so wide that a chaffinch could have built therein. "Is he to look for a bottle in the pond?" she asked, eagerly.
He declined to tell her more, but presently he sought Gavinia, who dreaded him nowadays because of his disconcerting way of looking at her inquiringly and saying "I do!" "You don't happen to know, Gavinia," he asked, "whether the good ship Ailie weathered the gale of the 15th instant?
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