CHAPTER I . A NEW DEPARTURE `` I 've thought of something amusing for the winter , '' I said as we drew into a half-circle around the glorious wood-fire in Uncle Alec 's kitchen . It had been a day of wild November wind , closing down into a wet , eerie twilight . Outside , the wind was shrilling at the windows and around the eaves , and the rain was playing on the roof . The old willow at the gate was writhing in the storm and the orchard was a place of weird music , born of all the tears and fears that haunt the halls of night . But little we cared for the gloom and the loneliness of the outside world ; we kept them at bay with the light of the fire and the laughter of our young lips . We had been having a splendid game of Blind-Man 's Buff . That is , it had been splendid at first ; but later the fun went out of it because we found that Peter was , of malice prepense , allowing himself to be caught too easily , in order that he might have the pleasure of catching Felicity -- which he never failed to do , no matter how tightly his eyes were bound . What remarkable goose said that love is blind ? Love can see through five folds of closely-woven muffler with ease ! `` I 'm getting tired , '' said Cecily , whose breath was coming rather quickly and whose pale cheeks had bloomed into scarlet . `` Let 's sit down and get the Story Girl to tell us a story . '' But as we dropped into our places the Story Girl shot a significant glance at me which intimated that this was the psychological moment for introducing the scheme she and I had been secretly developing for some days . It was really the Story Girl 's idea and none of mine . But she had insisted that I should make the suggestion as coming wholly from myself . `` If you do n't , Felicity wo n't agree to it . You know yourself , Bev , how contrary she 's been lately over anything I mention . And if she goes against it Peter will too -- the ninny ! -- and it would n't be any fun if we were n't all in it . '' `` What is it ? ''
asked XXXXX , drawing her chair slightly away from Peter 's .
Felicity cheeks fears halls laughter lips orchard order place winter