United States or Nigeria ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
She went on: "It's Sir Gerald Malloring's estate. Lady Malloring won't " She heard a snap. Mr. Cuthcott's mouth had closed. "Oh!" he said, "say no more!" 'He CAN bite nicely! she thought. Mr. Cuthcott, who had begun lightly thumping the little table with his open hand, broke out suddenly: "That petty bullying in the country! I know it! My God! Those prudes, those prisms!
It had been very secretly, very cleverly, managed; and, in the agent's opinion, was due to Mr. Freeland's family. He awaited Sir Gerald's instructions. Working double tides, with luck and good weather, the farmers and their families might perhaps save half of the hay. Malloring read this letter twice, and the enclosure three times, and crammed them deep down into his pocket.
To Felix, who took her in to dinner, she spoke feelingly and in a low voice. She liked Felix, in spite of his wife, and respected him he had a name. Lady Malloring she told him the Mallorings owned, of course, everything round Joyfields had been telling her that of late Tod's wife had really become quite rabid over the land question. 'The Tods' were hand in glove with all the cottagers.
This man, Tryst, was a good workman, and his farmer had objected to losing him, but Lady Malloring had, of course, not given way, and if he persisted he would get put out. All the cottages about there were Sir Gerald Malloring's, so that in both cases it would mean leaving the neighborhood. In regard to village morality, as Felix knew, the line must be drawn somewhere.
And for the life of him Malloring could not restrain a gesture of annoyance. On reaching home he sent gardeners and grooms in all directions with word that he would be glad to meet the men at four o'clock at the home farm. Much thought, and interviews with several of the farmers, who all but one a shaky fellow at best were for giving the laborers a sharp lesson, occupied the interval.
Is that exaggerated?" "I suppose not, but he " "Has his compensations: Clean conscience freedom from worry fresh air, all the rest of it! I know. Clean conscience granted, but so has your Malloring, it would seem. Freedom from worry yes, except when a pair of boots is wanted, or one of the children is ill; then he has to make up for lost time with a vengeance.
Malloring frowned. "How would things go on?" "All right," said Tod. Malloring got up from the sill. This was 'laisser-faire' with a vengeance! Such philosophy had always seemed to him to savor dangerously of anarchism.
"So did I, till I saw from those young furies what harm it's doing. They really do infect the cottagers. You know how discontent spreads. And Tryst they're egging him on, too." Malloring very thoughtfully filled a pipe. He was not an alarmist; if anything, he erred on the side of not being alarmed until it was all over and there was no longer anything to be alarmed at!
"Those young pups!" "Can't it be managed?" Malloring did not answer hastily. He had that best point of the good Englishman, a dislike to being moved out of a course of conduct by anything save the appeal of his own conscience. "I don't know," he said, "why we should alter what we thought was just. Must give him time to look round and get a job elsewhere."
She was leading the young men astray, and Lady Malloring had put her foot down, telling her bailiff to tell the farmer for whom Gaunt worked that he and his family must go, unless they sent the girl away somewhere. That was one case. And the other was of a laborer called Tryst, who wanted to marry his deceased wife's sister.
Word Of The Day