Excerpt from At the Sign of the Three Birches On the top of the coach were several passengers. Inside there were but two: an Old woman, wiry and angular, and a young woman, fair to look upon. Hair that was warm and sunny, eyes that were dark, and thoughtful, and an oval face that bespoke refinement and strength Of character these were what appealed to one first upon meet ing her. She was evidently very tired, and she leaned back wearily, turning her head so that she might look out at the sunny fields and distant hills, and at the same time discourage any attempt at conversation. The Older woman watched her closely. Her small, shrewd eyes narrowed as she scanned every feature, noted the weary droop of the young shoulders, and glanced at the slender hands lying listlessly in the lap, and for a moment she closed her thin lips tightly, with the air of one who thought: I told you so, although she dared not say it. She wished that the girl would speak, or even emit a tired sigh, when there would be an excuse for saying what lay at her tongue's end, but the girl remained silent, not changing the pose that she had held for nearly a half hour. At last the Older woman's patience gave way. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.