'Will you walk slowly on?' she said gently to the two young men, 'and
take the children with you; this gentleman wishes to speak to me on
business.'

The biggest young man caught up a little one under his arm, and plunged
amid the boughs; another little one lingered behind for a few moments to
look shyly at Christopher, with an oblique manner of hiding her mouth
against her shoulder and her eyes behind her pinafore. Then she
vanished, the boy and the second young man followed, and Ethelberta and
Christopher stood within the wood-bound circle alone.

'I hope I have caused no inconvenience by interrupting the proceedings,'
said Christopher softly; 'but I so very much wished to see you!'

'Did you, indeed--really wish to see me?' she said gladly. 'Never mind
inconvenience then; it is a word which seems shallow in meaning under the
circumstances. I surely must say that a visit is to my advantage, must I
not? I am not as I was, you see, and may receive as advantages what I
used to consider as troubles.'

'Has your life really changed so much?'

'It has changed. But what I first meant was that an interesting visitor
at a wrong time is better than a stupid one at a right time.'

'I had been behind the trees for some minutes, looking at you, and
thinking of you; but what you were doing rather interrupted my first
meditation. I had thought of a meeting in which we should continue our
intercourse at the point at which it was broken off years ago, as if the
omitted part had not existed at all; but something, I cannot tell what,