Love's Conflict Author:Florence Marryat Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. A NEW SERVANT AT ARISCEDWYN. A Dull, murky afternoon in the middle of January; in the sky, leaden-coloured clouds, and a searching north-east ... more »wind, and at the door of the cottage of the principal gamekeeper of Ariscedwyn, the principal gamekeeper's fresh-looking daughter Bessie, looking fresher than ever as she shielded her face from the cutting wind with her apron, and looked from north to south, and from east to west, in the vain hope of catching a glimpse of her father's figure on his way home. " There ain't no signs of him, mother," she said presently to some one inside the little room. " What can keep him out so late this bitter afternoon, and he without the muffatees I worked for him ? Why, his fingers will be well-nigh nipped off with the cold." " Father's got some extra work to detain him, Bessie, or he'd have been back to his fire-side beforenow. Why, it's nearly five o'clock. You come in from the door, my lass, or you'll get your death of cold." But the girl did not heed her mother's warning. "Five o'clock," she said, "aye; and it must be quite that, mother, for the workmen are beginning to put out their lights up at the Hall yonder. There must be plenty of work for them to do that they keep them at it byj their lanterns this kind of weather." And Bessie shuddered as she spoke. " Well, there is enough of it, surely," answered the mother's voice; " what with papering and painting—inside and out—and the wedding day, not a fortnight off—it's as much as they'll do now to be ready in time " "Only a fortnight!" said the girl, who had re- entered the cottage again, and settled herself close by the fire; " I wonder how it feels, mother, to be going to be married in only a fortnight ? I think the young lady up there cares more about it than th...« less