Mr. Bell knew something of what would be passing through her mind, and wisely and kindly held his tongue. They drove up to the Lennard Arms; half farm-house, half-inn, standing a little apart from the road, as much as to say, that the host did not so depend on the custom of travellers, as to have to court it by any obtrusiveness; they, rather, must seek him out. The house fronted the village green; and right before it stood an immemorial lime-tree benched all round, in some hidden recesses of whose leafy wealth hung the grim escutcheon of the Lennards. The door of the inn stood wide open, but there was no hospitable hurry to receive the travellers. When the landlady did appear--and they might have abstracted many an article first--she gave them a kind welcome, almost as if they had been invited guests, and apologised for her coming having been so delayed, by saying, that it was hay-time, and the provisions for the men had to be sent a-field, and she had been too busy packing up the baskets to hear the noise of wheels over the road, which, since they left the highway, ran over soft short turf.
"Why, bless me!" exclaimed she, as at the end of her apology a glint of sunshine showed her Margaret's face, hitherto unobserved in that shady parlour. "It's Miss Hale, Jenny," said she, running to the door, and calling to her daughter. "Come here, come directly, it's Miss Hale!" And then she went up to Margaret, and shook hands with motherly fondness.

Mr. Bell knew something of what would be passing through her mind, and wisely and kindly held his tongue. They drove up to the Lennard Arms; half farm-house, half-inn, by the village green. Before it stood an ancient lime-tree benched all round. The door of the inn stood wide open, but there was no hospitable hurry to receive the travellers. When the landlady did appear she gave them a kind welcome, and apologised for having been delayed; it was hay-time, and she had been busy packing up baskets of provisions to be sent out to the men in the field.
'Why, bless me!' exclaimed she. 'It's Miss Hale!' And she shook Margaret's hands with motherly fondness.
