Mazo de la Roche

“ Derek and Fawnie were sitting side by side on the sofa in the parlour. They were alone. Late sunlight was slanting between the chinks in the shutters. A solemn hush hung over the house. The atmosphere created by Mr. Ramsey's cassock and surplice still brooded there.
"My goodness," said Fawnie, thinking aloud. "He looked terr'ble nice in them wraps, almost like God. And he had a big ring with a shiny black stone—and I couldn't tell a word he said. I never saw anyone as much like God. But I don' like his big ring half as well as my nice ring." ”

“ Goldenrod rose, taller than the fences, its sprays imprisoning passing thistledown. The hips of the brier shone, plump and ruddy. Perhaps something of the gentle melancholy of the morning overtook those two people, usually so talkative when together, or perhaps each felt less certain of the other's state of mind than ever before.
When they came to the boundary between Durras and Grimstone they saw, crossing a field, the figures of two men. They were Derek and Edmund Vale.
"Shall we go on, or wait and speak to them?" asked Grace.
"We'll wait, don't you think so? They have seen us." ”

“ Derek had felt that he must get away from the house with its strange associations—the atmosphere of his marriage clung like stale incense to the rooms. After a few turns on the driveway, he had followed the path into the orchard.
It was dark as a crow's wing there, a good place to wander unseen. The lantern hanging before the shack only served to intensify the richness of the night, as a jewel the raven hair of a woman. ”

“ Under the bridge it had formed a dark pool and there the canoe was tied. While Derek unlocked the chain that secured it the slender girl crept in and knelt in the bow. He handed her a paddle and dropped down behind her.
Under the low bridge it was profoundly dark. The moist, velvety air seemed to envelop them; to press down upon them; even to support them, as upon a sombrous cloud. The silence was scarcely disturbed by the delicate ripple of the stream as it crept languidly across the beach and entered the lake. ”

“ He got his hat and went out by the front door. The road was deserted except for a speckled hen who was taking a dust bath with tempestuous energy, just outside the gate. She ceased for a moment as he passed and gazed up at him with a hard yellow eye. She lay on her side, every feather on end, and one scaly leg stiffly extended in the dust. Fearing some passing motor car might kill her, Derek pushed her gently with his foot and sent her, dishevelled and angry, through the gateway. ”

“ Jerrold sat on his grey horse near the stand, an expression of mingled pride and amusement on his face.
The auctioneer was loquacious, animated; he punctuated the sales by racy anecdotes; the prices paid filled Derek with surprise. More and more as the afternoon wore on he longed to possess one of these peerless, soft-eyed creatures as the foundation of a new and lucrative herd. Windmill continually urged him to buy, saying that he only wished he had the chance. The auctioneer drew attention to the line of the back, the shape of the udder and teats, the milk-vein of the animal before him. ”

“ Jammery
1. The more Derek watched Fawnie, the more he thought of her as the completest human being he had ever known. Her days were a circle of unthinking happiness, from the moment when she put her baby to her breast in the morning, to the time when she warmed her bare feet before the open fire, before she went to bed. She could not write; she could not read. Derek, after a few attempts at lessons, when her docility and utter lack of receptiveness almost put him asleep, gave it up. Why disturb that happy serenity? ”

“ Grimstone fronted an unbroken view of cliff, and lake, and sky. Yet all was not harshness, for a cherry orchard, in full bloom, crowded to the very kitchen doors, the moist ground beneath the trees already white with the tender petals that fell before the rough May wind. Behind the cherry orchard rose the ordered ranks of the apple orchard barely in bud, excepting a few crab-apple trees in pink flower, that filled the air with their lovely scent. West and south of the orchards were the plantations of small fruits, and, beyond them, fields and pastures, and a dark pine wood. ”

“ On New Year's Day, as they rode beside the bluffs, Grace's horse took fright at a white cat that crossed the road dragging the body of a rabbit, and shied almost to the edge of the rocky steep. It was Edmund who reached her first, who caught the bridle, and led the rearing horse to safety. Father and daughter seemed to look on him as a splendid fellow. And so he was! A brother to be proud of. Why then the sullen, burning anger when the voice of Grace floated back next day, calling him Edmund? Was this shameful feeling jealousy? Derek thought not. One must be in love first. ”

“ The women went to their bunks; and a slight silver moon rose above the orchard. An owl cried repeatedly in a mournful, downward trill. The men at the table noticed none of these things. Derek had had a considerable amount of money in his pockets and he was losing it slowly but surely to Jammery and Isaac. He did not mind, for Jammery kept his glass full and it was the excitement of the play he craved. He played wildly, his cheeks flushed by drink, and his fair face contrasting strangely with the bronze countenances about him. ”

“ His arm drew her to his side.
"What are you lonely for?"
"You. . . . I want to go out in the canoe."
"In this inky darkness?"
"I like it. It's awful to feel the way I do. Like as if my blood was dancin' in my body. If I could get out in that canoe I'd feel nice and quiet."
"All right," said Derek. He felt suddenly restless himself, and the thought of being in a canoe with Fawnie on the vast darkness of the lake was soothing. "But keep very quiet. Don't speak above a whisper. And keep hold of me. We'll scramble down the bank right here." ”

“ Surely no woman with a heart in her body could refuse him when he told her of yesterday's fright.
He had Bill bring the red sleigh to the door. When Buckskin heard the bells jingling and saw Derek fetching his rabbit skin coat and cap with the earlugs, he could hardly contain himself for joy. He kicked his heels and shouted. He showed all his pearl-like teeth, and Jock, to add to the gaiety, leaped to the couch, put his nose to the window-pane and gave forth a volley of short, mad barks. ”

“ Derek followed her and looked down. "You know," he said, "I'm perfectly aware of what you're up to. And it's no use. You never bring anything out. I don't believe there's anything to bring. That empty nest was an omen for you. Better give up trying and just be ornamental." She looked out at him, her head delicately poised, with the cold, aloof regard of a snake.
A meadow lark rose from its nest in the meadow beyond. Turning his eyes to watch its flight Derek saw Grace Jerrold kneeling bareheaded by the rill. ”

“ Derek was introduced to Miss Jerrold and Mr. Ramsey, and a stout Aberdeen terrier was tipped from a chair to make room for him. He was provided with a cup of tea and a scone; the Aberdeen which a moment before had seemed stupefied by sleep, sat up briskly before him waving its forepaws, and fixing him with glowing, greedy eyes.
"That is Sgiath," said Miss Jerrold. "She is a great nuisance." ”

“ Derek lounged on the brocaded sofa and smoked, while the eyes of those who had built and cherished Grimstone looked soberly down from the walls.
In a pause of the music Derek said: "Oh, I say, Edmund, I have a Christmas present for you. Shall I give it to you now or shall you wait till tomorrow?"
Edmund swung around on the stool and faced him. "I think I'll wait. I have something for you too. Only a trifle. Not at all what I should have liked, but you know how it is with me. I'm always hard up." ”

“ He did not like leaving Buckskin for so long, but he had a way of barricading him with chairs on the couch in the dining room that had answered very well when he had gone to visit Hobbs. After breakfast he imprisoned him thus, gave him Pegleg to play with, a bottle of milk and two biscuits for refreshment, and left Jock on the foot of the couch for company.
The ride to Brancepeth made him feel better, the invigorating air, the light rise and fall in the stirrups, the feel of the well-groomed horse beneath him. ”

“ It occurred to him that he was being made vastly uncomfortable for doing a humane and just act. Many a man would have bundled the whole crew off his farm.
The Indians avoided him, too. All day they squatted in the blazing sun among the strawberries, never lifting their eyes when he passed. Added to the enervating heat, a tension of suppressed excitement hung over Grimstone like a cloud charged with stormy portent. Under that hard blue sky the Indians, the hired help, and Derek moved like people in a secret game, watching in furtive fashion for someone to make the next move. ”

“ Her full breasts bounced, her strong legs leaped against her long, heavy skirt; the lamp light sparkled on the thick spectacles she wore. Around her were grouped four men and an old woman. "She must be Mrs. Machin," thought Derek, "the housekeeper . . . the men, farm labourers, of course."
He was fascinated by the dancing of the girl. Only when she had dropped panting into a chair could he give more than a glance to the men. ”

“ Across the hall he found a bedroom whose tall four-poster and deep leather chair pleased him at once. The old English sporting prints on the walls were nice, too. He was tired but he would not go to bed till he had seen the upstairs.
So he ascended the uncarpeted steps, the lamp at a precarious angle. He explored three bedrooms and a dingy little study, and peered down a narrow passage that led to the rooms occupied by the help.
As he undressed he wondered how they were disposed: probably the robust girl and the dry old woman together; Windmill alone; the three Scots sleeping like logs. ”

“ Solomon greeted Derek with a dignified inclination of his iron-grey head.
"Mr. Vale," he said, "I am goin' to leave Chard today and take all my family except Esther and her husband, and Jammery."
"And me, paw!" cried Fawnie. "I'm goin' to stay."
"You're goin' to stay," repeated Solomon, with a scornful gesture of his dark hand. "Nobody cares what you're goin' to do because you're so lazy. Even Beulah who is four years younger picks faster than you. Yet when the hot bread and the ham and the pickles are put on the table, you are the first one to sit down and eat all you kin." ”

“ Derek told his brother of all his ambitions for Grimstone, and impressed him with the knowledge of farming he had gained in the past months. They went to the kitchen where the collie lay, stretched on his mat beside the cooking stove. Plates of apple-parings on the table reminded them of Phœbe's eyelids and the apple-pips. They laughed, and then suddenly began to scuffle. Around the kitchen they strained and heaved getting more in earnest every moment. At last Derek bent Edmund across the table and, holding his head down, administered some hearty thumps. ”

“ When Derek took him to the cow-stable he had little enough to say about the two fine Holstein cows that had been purchased in the autumn to mate with the young son of Gretta van Lowe. Yet he hung fascinated over the calf-pen to watch Phœbe feed twin Jersey calves, late comers in the season, her arm rising, round and white, from the warm, sickly-smelling milk, her face flushed with exertion as she cuffed back the other twin. ”