which time he was made the idol of his family. Full of new hopes and
ambitions, he scarcely thought of Morva, who kept out of his way as
much as possible, dreading only the usual request that she would meet
him by the broom bushes; but no such request came, and, if the truth be
told, he never remembered to seek an interview with her, so filled was
his mind with thoughts of Gwenda.

He had been studiously reticent with regard to his engagement to her,
at her special request. She knew how much gossip the news would
occasion, and felt that the less it was talked about beforehand the
less likelihood there would be of her relations being irritated and
annoyed by ill-natured remarks. She was happier than she had ever
hoped to be, and if she sometimes saw in her lover a trait of character
which did not entirely meet the approbation of her honest nature, she
laid the flattering unction to her soul, "When we are married I will
try to make him perfect."




CHAPTER XVII

GWENDA AT GARTHOWEN

On the slope of the moor, where the autumn sun was burnishing the furze
and purpling the heather, Morva sat knitting, her nimble fingers outrun
by her busy thoughts.

She was sitting half way up the moor, an old cloak wrapped round her
and its hood drawn over her head, for the wind was keen, blowing fresh