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Ted stood by with his thumbs in his waistcoat pockets, smiling to himself. "Yon's gradely chickens," he remarked presently. "Ye never eat 'em do ye? 'Twouldn't be respectful, I shouldn't think." Margaret vouchsafed no reply. Ted resumed, with bitter sarcasm. "H'm, mich the same as their r'yal namesakes, I reckon kept for show an' no manner o' use to nobry."
"Nay, 'twas me as couldn't bear the notion of her," rejoined Tom stoutly. "I'd be hard put-to to do wi' onybody at arter our Betty. Hoo's wick an' 'earty, an' I dunnot want nobry; but if I did have to pick a second missus, it shouldn't be Margaret Hep." "Hoo's reg'lar set in her ways, isn't hoo?" put in old Jack. "Ah, hoo's reg'lar cut out for a single life, Marg'ret is.
"Dunnot be so mad," she pleaded, laying her hand upon his arm. "I didn't think to vex ye. I nobbut looked about for the best I could find. They flowers ye didn't seem to set mich store by, and I could on'y get a twothree now and again when theer was nobry about." He shook her off with an angry laugh. "So the flowers were stolen, too! Now, look you, Sally, I'm goin' to have an end o' this.
Ye see, nobry had no feelin' for me here in village; they all towd me to resign mysel', an' that, an' it were wicked o' me to be ill-satisfied wi' th' A'mighty's will. But, ye see, I wouldn't seem able to give ower frettin' I raly couldn't.
"It seems a pity, Miss Heptonstall, as it's only yoursel' ye're doin' it for " "Why so?" interrupted Margaret snappishly. "Well, it seems sich terrible waste, ye know. It seems a pity ye shouldn't be doin' for soombry else at th' same time." "I dunnot want to do for nobry, nobbut mysel'," returned Margaret with a toss of her head.
At th' dinner yonder, at th' Thornleigh Arms, soombry 'll allus get up an' call for th' 'ealth o' th' owdest member, an' then th' two owd lads 'ull get agate o' bargin' one another, an' Upton folks 'ull be backin' up Martin, an' th' Thornleigh folks 'ull be backin' up Robert, an' they mak' sich a din, they say as nobry can hear theirsel's speak." The Doctor laughed loud and long.
"Nay I fancy one on you had best bring it to my place hoo met get to hear on 't, ye know," he explained with a sheepish smile. There was a great guffawing and stamping of feet at this. Ted was slapped on the shoulder, his friends declaring that nobry could beat him. By-and-by he managed to make his escape, and walked pensively homewards, shaking his head now and then, and muttering to himself:
"Ah, we all paid up we did that, an' we'n been waitin' for thee to look in yonder at Orme's! We was all expectin' a bit of a do, thou knows an' thou's never so much as coom nigh th' place. An' thou settled to get wed an' all, wi'out namin' it to nobry! It's scarce honest." Ted scratched his jaw reflectively; the argument seemed to touch him.
Well but, last neet I haven't towd nobry, because I didn't want to have 'em laughin', ye know, and, o' course, I dunnot set mich store by dreams; but still, it seemed to comfort me." She looked at me appealingly, and, being assured of my sympathy, continued "Well, last neet I were very lonesome when I geet into bed, an' I began o' thinkin' o' my mother, an' wonderin' where hoo was.
Dunnot thou go frettin' thysel' this road; nobry knows what's goin' to come about i' this world." Martin's eyes travelled slowly from the ceiling to her face with a puzzled, discontented gaze. "If th' owd lad dees afore next year it 'ull spile everything 'twouldn't be no satisfaction to walk oftener nor him if he were dead."
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