Читать книгу Charles Peace, or The Adventures of a Notorious Burglar онлайн

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One might have wondered how she—​living in a cottage, the wife of a man who worked hard for his daily bread—​came by this dainty beauty, this delicate loveliness which would have been fit dowry for a duchess.

The young wife’s gaze was directed down the road which led to the station; the rays of the setting sun cast long shadows across this from the trees which skirted its sides.

Presently her countenance was irradiated with a smile. She heard the sounds of approaching footsteps, she hastened onwards, and in a few minutes she saw her husband in the distance.

“Ah, dearest, you’ve been waiting and watching for me. Is it not so?” cried Tom Gatliffe.

The young woman smiled and nodded; then they walked slowly home together.

“I hope you have not been dull to-day,” said Tom, when the two entered the parlour. “I don’t like to see you dull.”

“I have been as lively as usual,” she answered.

“Umph, that’s not saying much, darling,” returned the husband in a tone of banter. “Not much, you’ll admit. At present the place is new and strange to you. In time you will be more used to it.”