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

The Salamanca Corpus: Yeoman Fleetwood (1900)
He sins no sin but gentle drunkenness…
—Omar Khayyám.
Dolly, the cherry-cheeked little maid at the Farm, appeared in answer to Mr. Gifford's
summons, and stared round-eyed at the fine visitors. The master was up yonder at the
barn looking after the threshing; he would be in directly. Miss Fleetwood was at home,
but Dolly reckoned she was busy. Nevertheless, she would fetch her in a two-three
minutes. Then, raising her voice in a shrill summons of " Bill, Bill," Dolly clung to the
bridle of either horse with a stout red hand, and, jerking her head over her shoulder,
requested the callers to walk in.
"The owd lad will be here afore aught's long,” she explained, "an' I’ll just bide wi' th'
'osses till he cooms. If ye'll walk straight in, ma'am — first door to the reet."
Bertha obeyed her injunctions, and Edward followed, sniggering to himself. Out of the
bright sunshine and the tingling air of the north country spring they made their way into
the large, wide, quiet parlour. Here it was cool, not to say cold, for the first of April was
past and fires were tabooed. Moreover, two of the mullioned windows were set open.
Edward shivered, but looked about him curiously.
“Not a bad room," he said. “I wish the fellow would come. Ugh, how cold it is! I must
have a nip of something to warm me. I'll engage this fellow brews better ale than is to
be had at the hall, but for
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the matter of that a glass of Cognac would be the thing to warm one best in this icehouse."
“Pray, Brother" Bertha was beginning anxiously, when a quick step was heard in the
hall without and Simon entered. Edward advanced to meet him with exaggerated
heartiness, which he maintained in spite of Fleetwood's somewhat formal greeting.
Simon could feel no touch of resentment towards Bertha, but the mere sight of Edward
seemed somehow to conjure up afresh the memory of his mother's wrongs. Still, Rachel