"She'll pay more heed to you than she would to me. But, one word,
Will. If you catch her with a young man don't go and lose your temper
with him. Don't bother about him. Just bring the young minx straight
home."
"An' suppose there's no young man."
"Bring her back just the same, and lecture her all the way on her
disobedience--and the trouble and annoyance she is giving us. Tell her
we're not going to stand any more of it."
"Very well."
He walked along the road at a fairly brisk pace until he came to the
second stile, and then he stood hesitatingly. The firs grew thick
here, and the shadows that they cast were dark and opaque, encroaching
on the pathway, making it a narrow strip of dim light that would lead
one into the mysterious and gloomy depths of the wood.
He crossed the stile, and went along the path very slowly, pausing now
and then to listen. There was not a sound; the whole wood was as
silent as the grave.
Presently the fir-trees on each side of him opened out a little, and
here and there beeches and ashes appeared; then the path passed
through a glade, the shadows receded, and he had a sensation of being
more free and able to breathe better. If he kept on by the path he
would soon come to the main ride, that long widely cut avenue which
goes close to Kibworth Rocks and gives access to the other straight
cuts leading to the Abbey park.
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