He came down, he breakfasted alone in the early morning freshness.
The house was all illumined by the sun, but it spread its beauties
in vain before him. The trap came to the door, and when he came out
he found to his surprise that Jack was standing on the steps
talking to the coachman. "I thought I would like to come to the
station with you," said Jack. Howard was pleased at this. They got
in together, and one by one the scenes so strangely familiar fled
past them. Howard looked long at the Vicarage as he passed,
wondering whether Maud was perhaps looking out. That had been a
clumsy, stupid business--his talk with her! Presently Jack said,
"Look here, I am going to say again that I was perfectly hateful
yesterday. I don't know what came over me--I was thinking aloud."
"Oh, it doesn't matter a bit!" said Howard; "it was my fault
really. I have mismanaged things, I think; and it is good for me to
find that out."
"No, but you haven't," said Jack. "I see it all now. You came down
here, and you made friends with everyone. That was all right; the
fact simply is that I have been jealous and mean. I expected to
have you all to myself--to run you, in fact; and I was vexed at
finding you take an interest in all the others. There, it's better
out. I am entirely in the wrong. You have been awfully good all
round, and we shall be precious dull now that you are going. The
truth is that we have been squabbling over you.
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