The Salamanca Corpus: Yeoman Fleetwood (1900 ... - Gredos

The Salamanca Corpus: Yeoman Fleetwood (1900)
By a divine instinct men's minds mistrust
Ensuing danger. —Shakespeare.
It was late at night when Simon reached home. Though on parting from Rachel he had
at once left the inn, he remained in the town until she herself had quitted it. Standing
unnoticed in the darkness he had seen the coach which bore her away from him flash
past, and had caught a momentary glimpse of Humphrey's form on the box seat Then he
had slowly gone in search of his horse and gig, and set forth on his homeward journey.
The horse, fresh from its long rest, would have pressed forward, but that Simon checked
its speed: he would reach the Farm all too soon. Was this the same road which they had
traversed yesterday; was he the same man? Every now and then he would glance over
his shoulder at the empty place beside him, as though in search of the form which had
occupied it yesterday; the tones of her voice sounded perpetually in his ears, the gentle
loving words she had said recurring to him, each with an inconceivably bitter pang, the
sharpest of all being caused by the memory of that jubilant phrase of hers:—
"To-morrow, Simon, to-morrow, we shall be speeding along this same road, man and
wife
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The time had come, and they were man and wife indeed, but he was pursuing his road
— alone.
Here was the wood where scarcely more than twenty-four hours ago he had, with such a
fast-throbbing heart, caught sight of her expectant figure. Stung afresh by the
recollection he whipped up the horse, and the animal springing forward, brought him in
a few moments to his own gate. It took but a short time to unharness and feed the horse;
and then, with lagging step, Simon made his way to the house. All was darkness there,
and his heavy, unwilling knock had to be twice repeated before he could rouse the
inmates. Then a window overhead was hastily pushed up, and Susan's voice tremulously
demanded who was there.
"It is I,” replied Simon. "The door is barred: come down quickly and let me in."
He heard a sound as of hurried clapping of hands within, and excited exclamations.