"Poor girl," said Stafford, involuntarily.
"Well, yes, you may say that, sir," said the landlord, but doubtfully,
"though it don't seem as if Miss Ida was in need of much pity; she is
so bright and--and high-spirited, as you may say; though it's a wonder
she can be so, seeing the life she leads, alone in that great place
with her father, who never goes beyond the garden, and who shuts
himself up with his books all day. Yes, it's a wonder, when you come to
think of it, that she can smile and laugh and be as cheerful as she is.
I often hear her singing when she's riding through the dale or along
the road here. Miss Ida's wonderfully liked by all the people, sir; in
fact, you might say that they worship her."
"I can understand it," said Stafford, almost to himself.
"It must have been great change to her," continued the landlord,
"coming down here from London to such a wild, out-of-the-way place;
many young ladies would have lost heart and pined and fretted; but
she's a true Heron, is Miss Ida, and she faced the thing fairly and
buckled to, as you may say. She took the whole thing on her shoulders,
and though she couldn't coax the squire out of his shell, she takes
care of him and runs the whole place as if she were a man. Yes, sir,
though she's only a girl, as you saw yourself, she manages the house
and the farm as if she were a woman of forty. It's wonderful how she's
picked it up. I honestly believe there isn't a man in the place as
knows more about horses, as I said, than she does; but that's in the
blood, sir, and she can ride--well, you saw for yourself."
"And has she no society, no amusements; doesn't she go out, have
friends, I mean?"
The landlord shook his head.
"No, sir; she just lives there with the squire, and they see no one,
receive no visits and pay none. You see, sir, the Herons are proud;
they're got cause to be, and I've heard it told that the squire is too
proud to let the old family friends see the poverty of the house, and
that he hates the new people who bought land and built houses in the
place--I'm sure I beg your pardon, sir--I was forgetting for the moment
that your father, Sir Stephen, had just built that beautiful place the
other side of the lake."
Stafford smiled.