His Grace — page 154: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

48 HIS GRACE. CHAPTER XII. AN ASSIGNATION. WE did not, on our return home, meet with quite the warmest of welcomes, and I suppose Hurstbourne’s conscience and prescience must have alike disquieted him ; for, as we drew near the huge edifice of which he was sole lord and master, he began to assume some- thing of the air of a schoolboy who has broken out of bounds. ““T expect my mother won’t be over and above pleased at our having spent the night at Lavenham,” he remarked in a confidential tone, while we were dis- mounting; ‘“ she’ll be sure to say that we had no busi- ness to accept hospitality from Paul. But we really couldn’t help it, could we ?”’ “ 7 couldn’t help it,” I replied rather ungenerously ; “ I don’t know so much about you.” “My dear fellow, neither you nor I could have rid- den another half mile without gross cruelty to animals. Besides, I thought we had all agreed that Paul was to be treated with friendliness. Goodness knows it’s no pleasure to me to eat the fellow’s food or to drink his wine.” The above feeble excuses were all that he had to Gomicboo cS (e(@) m