The Duchess,
grievously offended by the impropriety of this language, drew
herself up haughtily.
"Perhaps you would not mind suggesting it to her, sir," said Lord
Mistletoe.
"I could do that by letter," said the Duke.
"And when she has assented, as of course she will, then perhaps you
wouldn't mind writing a line to him to make an appointment. If you
were to do so he could not refuse." To this proposition the Duke
returned no immediate answer; but looked at it round and round
carefully. At last, however, he acceded to this also, and so the
matter was arranged. All these influential members of the ducal
family met together at the ducal mansion on Arabella's behalf, and
settled their difficulty by deputing the work of bearding the lion,
of tying the bell on the cat, to an absent lady whom they all
despised and disliked.
That afternoon the Duke, with the assistance of his son, who was a
great writer of letters, prepared an epistle to his sister-in-law
and another to Lord Rufford, which was to be sent as soon as Lady
Augusta had agreed to the arrangement. In the former letter a good
deal was said as to a mother's solicitude for her daughter. It had
been felt, the letter said, that no one could speak for a daughter
so well as a mother;--that no other's words would so surely reach
the heart of a man who was not all evil but who was tempted by the
surroundings of the world to do evil in this particular case.
Pages:
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617