The door opened with out my wife or myself telling them they could come in. Come on Mom and Dad. Matt burst in the room yelling. You guys promised we ...could go hiking today. Yeah dad and mom you promised. I could hear Chuck saying behind Matt. Do your parents always sleep so late guys? I heard Steve and his brother Len saying. Okay boys, Im coming as soon as I get dressed. My wife yelled back getting out of bed. Get out of our room Chuck and Matt and take your two friends. My husband and I are. Some of the villagers doffed their hats to greet the returning squire in the first coach and Ellen observed the friendly nature of the greetings.Sitting across from her, Eleanor was in a mood that could only be described as sour. She had begged for almost two weeks to be excluded from the trip to High Matcham, even offering to stay with her grandmother. Lady Cater had been uncompromising. If the budding relationship of Eleanor and Antonio Ruiz could not survive a four-week hiatus, there was not. I told her I needed to talk to her first. We then went down to supper where I told Mom and Dad the same story. Dad asked me what I told Mason Burk."I told Mason that I would talk to my wife and you two about it. I think this is a great opportunity, but it's going to take me away from ever being a farmer."Dad said, "I'm not ready to quit yet and our neighbor has boys growing up. You could have a boy in the oven right now who would be about the right age to help out on the farm and eventually. While walking around the office that morning I found out that one of the girls was having a baby shower during lunch that day and all the girls in the office where going except the two new girls, Ann and a mosey young lady named Katie. This meant that for an hour there would only be three people in the office. Ann, Katie and I, and Ann's office could not be seen from the front desk an neither could mine for that matter so there was no way the girl taking care of the phones could see what was.