He
doesn't mean anything. He's only amusing himself."
"If he'd once say the word he couldn't get back again. The Duke
would interfere then."
"What would he care for the Duke? The Duke is no more than anybody
else nowadays. I shall just fall to the ground between two stools.
I know it as well as if it were done already. And then I shall have
to begin again! If it comes to that I shall do something terrible.
I know I shall." Then they turned in at Lord Rufford's gates; and
as they were driven up beneath the oaks, through the gloom, both
mother and daughter thought how charming it would be to be the
mistress of such a park.
CHAPTER XXI
The first Evening at Rufford Hall
The phaeton arrived the first, the driver having been especially
told by Arabella that he need not delay on the road for the other
carriage. She had calculated that she might make her entrance with
better effect alone with her mother than in company with Morton and
the Senator. It would have been worth the while of any one who had
witnessed her troubles on that morning to watch the bland serenity
and happy ease with which she entered the room. Her mother was fond
of a prominent place but was quite contented on this occasion to
play a second fiddle for her daughter. She had seen at a glance
that Rufford Hall was a delightful house.
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