. . ." She ceased, and with her pen in her hand sat looking
into the fire, making the logs into caves and mountains, for it had
grown too dark to go on writing. Moreover, the house began to stir as
the hour of dinner approached; she could hear the plates being chinked
in the dining-room next door, and Chailey instructing the Spanish girl
where to put things down in vigorous English. The bell rang; she rose,
met Ridley and Rachel outside, and they all went in to dinner.
Three months had made but little difference in the appearance either of
Ridley or Rachel; yet a keen observer might have thought that the girl
was more definite and self-confident in her manner than before. Her skin
was brown, her eyes certainly brighter, and she attended to what was
said as though she might be going to contradict it. The meal began with
the comfortable silence of people who are quite at their ease together.
Then Ridley, leaning on his elbow and looking out of the window,
observed that it was a lovely night.
"Yes," said Helen. She added, "The season's begun," looking at the
lights beneath them. She asked Maria in Spanish whether the hotel was
not filling up with visitors. Maria informed her with pride that there
would come a time when it was positively difficult to buy eggs--the
shopkeepers would not mind what prices they asked; they would get them,
at any rate, from the English.
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