"Robert will not be cruel. We saw that last night," said Caroline.
"But he will be hard," retorted Shirley; "and so will your uncle."
As they hurried along the meadow and plantation path to Fieldhead, they saw the distant highway already alive with an unwonted flow of equestrians and pedestrians, tending in the direction of the usually solitary Hollow. On reaching the hall, they found the backyard gates open, and the court and kitchen seemed crowded with excited milk-fetchers--men, women, and children--whom Mrs. Gill, the housekeeper, appeared vainly persuading to take their milk-cans and depart. (It _is_, or _was_, by-the-bye, the custom in the north of England for the cottagers on a country squire's estate to receive their supplies of milk and butter from the dairy of the manor house, on whose pastures a herd of milch kine was usually fed for the convenience of the neighbourhood. Miss Keeldar owned such a herd--all deep-dewlapped, Craven cows, reared on the sweet herbage and clear waters of bonny Airedale; and very proud she was of their sleek aspect and high condition.) Seeing now the state of matters, and that it was desirable to effect a clearance of the premises, Shirley stepped in amongst the gossiping groups. She bade them good-morning with a certain frank, tranquil ease--the natural characteristic of her manner when she addressed numbers, especially if those numbers belonged to the working-class; she was cooler amongst her equals, and rather proud to those above her. She then asked them if they had all got their milk measured out; and understanding that they had, she further observed that she "wondered what they were waiting for, then."

"Robert will not be cruel. We saw that last night," said Caroline.
"But he will be hard," retorted Shirley; "and so will your uncle."
As they hurried along the meadow path to Fieldhead, they saw the distant highway already alive with horsemen and pedestrians, heading towards the Hollow. On reaching the hall, they found the backyard gates open, and the court and kitchen crowded with excited milk-fetchers - waiting to receive their supplies from the dairy, as was the custom - whom Mrs. Gill, the housekeeper, was vainly trying to persuade to take their milk-cans and depart.
Seeing the state of matters, Shirley stepped in amongst the gossiping groups. She bade them good-morning with a frank, tranquil ease, and asked if they had all got their milk measured out; and understanding that they had, she observed that she "wondered what they were waiting for, then."
