Sink or Swim? , Volume I

From the time of that chance meeting, Arthur Vavasour became a very frequent visitor at the Paddocks. Ostensibly there was generally some business excuses for the "calls" that were made so often, and lasted so long. There was so frequently an ailing or an unsound horse, concerning which an opinion was required; and then, as we already know, the Paddocks lay so conveniently on the road to Fairleigh, that it was hardly surprising that poor Sophy's somewhat fickle lover should stop to rest him on the way.

There is no denying the truth that young Mrs. Beacham did greatly enjoy Mr. Vavasour's society. They had so many (the old reason! ) tastes in common. He had read the books _she_ liked, and he delighted in less commonplace and more classic music than "The soldier's tear," and that old, old "Banks of Allan Waters," which Honor was so tired of. His voice too, when he spoke, was so soft and low -- an "excellent thing" in man as well as woman -- and that same voice sounded doubly pleasant after a morning spent in listening to Mrs. Beacham's querulous tones and harsh Yorkshire dialect.