Page:Between Two Loves.djvu/293

288 On the Saturday afternoon, following his own occupation, he called for Nelly Lewthwaite and took her for a long walk over Aske Common. When her feet began to weary, and he saw that she was tired and hungry, he led her to his house, and said as he pointed it out, "Come thy ways in, and let my house-keeper give thee a cup o' tea. She was making cheese cakes when I left, and they smelled good enough to make a body hungry. Come, Nelly, will ta?"

"Would ta like me to come in a bit?"

"What is ta teasing me for? Thou knows I would like nothing better."

"Then I'll hev a cup o' tea and some cheese-cakes. I'm as fond as a child o' them, and I'm hungry, too."

"Why, thou isn't much more than a child. So come thy ways in, and eat as many as iver thou can. I hev just bought t' house, and I'd like some woman like thee to tell me if it is furnished as it ought to be."

The housekeeper received Nelly a little stiffly. She had a shrewd idea as to Ben's intentions, and yet she felt that there was nothing to be gained by opposing them. So she took Nelly up-stairs to remove her bonnet, and made