It bade
fair to become a permanent feature in his face.
CHAPTER XXIII.
ARMED NEUTRALITY.
One afternoon in the cool heart of October, Cornelia and Sophie found
themselves on the hill which rose up in front of the house, above the
road, bound on a hunt for autumn leaves. They were alone. Bressant's
time for coming was still an hour distant. A few nights before there had
been a frost, which had inspired a rainbow soul into the woods; and the
glory of the golden and crimson leaves made it imperatively necessary
that they should be gathered and allowed to illuminate the dusky
interior of the Parsonage.
Since Cornelia's return home, the sisters had not been so much together
as formerly. Sophie had observed it, and secretly blamed herself: she
allowed Bressant to monopolize her--left Cornelia out in the cold--was
selfish and thoughtless just because she was happy--and so forth: taking
herself severely to task, and resolving to amend her behavior forthwith.
But there seemed to be some difficulty in the way of consummating her
best intentions.
Cornelia was no longer so easily to be come at; she did not volunteer
herself now in the liberal, joyous way she used to do; did not, in fact,
appear half so ready to do her share in the work of reconstruction.
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