When he had been some time at Beechgrove he received one morning a
letter from the Earl of Mountdean, saying that he was in the
neighborhood, and would like to call. Lord Arleigh was pleased at the
prospect. There was deep and real cordiality between the two men--they
thoroughly understood and liked each other; it was true that the earl
was older by many years than Lord Arleigh, but that did not affect their
friendship.
They enjoyed a few days together very much. One morning they rode
through the woods--the sweet, fragrant, June woods--when, from between
the trees, they saw the square turrets of the Dower House. Lord
Mountdean stopped to admire the view.
"We are a long distance from Beechgrove," he said; "what is that pretty
place?"
Lord Arleigh's face flushed hotly.
"That," he replied, "is the Dower House, where my wife lives."
The earl looked with great interest at Lady Arleigh's dwelling-place.
"It is very pretty," he said--"pretty and quiet; but it must be dull for
a young girl. You said she was young, did you not?"
"Yes, she is years younger than I am," replied Lord Arleigh.
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