The Curate's wife and her two daughters and Mrs Jehoram were still playing at tennis on the lawn behind the Vicar's study, playing keenly and talking in gasps¹ about paper patterns for blouses. But the Vicar forgot and came in that way.

 

They saw the Vicar's hat above the rhododendrons, and a bare curly head beside him. "I must ask him about Susan Wiggin," said the Curate's wife. She was about to serve, and stood with a racket in one hand and a ball between the fingers of the other. "He really ought to have gone to see her—being the Vicar. Not George. I——Ah!"

 

For the two figures suddenly turned the corner and were visible. The Vicar, arm in arm with——

 

[Pg 39]

 

You see, it came on the Curate's wife suddenly. The Angel's face being towards her she saw nothing of the wings. Only a face of unearthly beauty in a halo of chestnut² hair, and a graceful³ figure clothed in a saffron garment that barely reached the knees. The thought of those knees flashed upon the Vicar at once. He too was horrorstruck. So were the two girls and Mrs Jehoram. All horrorstruck. The Angel stared in astonishment⁴ at the horrorstruck group. You see, he had never seen anyone horrorstruck before.

 

"Mis—ter Hilyer!" said the Curate's wife. "This is too much!" She stood speechless for a moment. "Oh!"

 

She swept round upon the rigid⁵ girls. "Come!" The Vicar opened and shut his voiceless mouth. The world hummed and spun⁶ about him. There was a whirling of zephyr⁷ skirts, four impassioned faces sweeping⁸ towards the open door of the passage that ran through the vicarage. He felt his position went with them.

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