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

The Salamanca Corpus: Yeoman Fleetwood (1900)
panels, she reckoned she had a good right to complain, for had she not been born in that
very room? And that was more than her sister-in-law could boast of. Meanwhile, the
transformation effected, if somewhat barbarous from an aesthetic point of view, did, no
doubt, lend the room a cheerful appearance. When Mrs. Fleetwood finally took
possession of it, and glanced round at the buff walls, the carpet with its bunches of
roses, and the bright chintzes, her delight and gratitude knew no bounds.
[42]
"You are very good to me, Husband” she said, glancing up at him affectionately as he
stood by her couch. He stooped and kissed her, and then turned away somewhat
abruptly, for his eyes had grown suddenly dim, as they had often done of late when they
rested on her.
Mrs. Fleetwood, however, noticed nothing, and when the Squire's lady came to see the
pretty new room her joy was complete. Little Rachel, too, was quite delighted with the
room. She often came to sit with Mrs. Fleetwood, who took endless pleasure in teaching
her some of the pastimes which occupied so many of her own hours. How to make spills
with wonderful feathery tops, and shell-boxes, and little pasteboard houses covered with
the pith of rushes, with gravel walks made of sand and glittering ore, and little pith men
and women inside. "She was growing a tall girl now, and would soon have to go to
school," her mother said with a sigh.
When Simon came home for the holidays that year, he was struck by a certain increase
of gravity in his father's look and manner which surprised him, for otherwise the home
atmosphere seemed to him brighter than usual. There was a splendid harvest to begin
with, and the colts which Mr. Fleetwood intended to dispose of at Ormskirk Fair would
reflect credit on him as a breeder of such cattle. Then he liked the sunny little parlour
upstairs. It was pleasant to sit there quietly with his mother, without Aunt Binney
fussing in and out — for that lady steadfastly adhered to a resolution, first formed in
angry disappointment, of never setting foot in that desecrated chamber — and his
mother herself seemed so much more cheerful and content. Her altered demeanour,
indeed, encouraged Simon to hope that she would accede to a certain petition which he
meant to make before his vacation came to an end.