We sat down at the table; and the elderly woman waited.

I could now see that her face was the color of a shop-worn lemon.
As for the lady who had gone to school at Walford--I wondered what place in the old school-room she had occupied--she was more charming than ever.

Her manner was so cordial and cheerful that I could not doubt that she considered the entry of my name in her book as a regular introduction.

She asked me about my plan of travel, how far I would go in a day, and that sort of thing.

The elderly woman was very grim, and somehow or other I did not take very much interest in my plan of travel, but the meal was an extremely pleasant one for all that.
The natural thing for me to do after I finished my breakfast was to pay my bill and ride away, but I felt no inclination for anything of the sort.