Even she did not pretend to say that Mary ought to refuse the
squire. Nor, as far as Mary was concerned, could she have further
recourse to the evils of Ushanting, and the peril of social
intercourse with ladies and gentlemen. It was manifest that Mary
was to be a lady with a big house, and many servants, and, no
doubt, a carriage and horses. But still Mrs. Masters was not quite
silenced. She had daughters of her own, and would solace herself by
declaring to them, to her husband, and to her specially intimate
friends, that of course they would see no more of Mary. It wasn't
for them to expect to be asked to Bragton, and as for herself she
would much rather not. She knew her own place and what she was born
to, and wasn't going to let her own children spoil themselves and
ruin their chances by dining at seven o'clock and being waited upon
by servants at every turn. Thank God her girls could make their own
beds, and she hoped they might continue to do so at any rate till
they had houses of their own.
And there seemed to Dillsborough to be some justification for all
this in the fact that Mary was now living at Bragton, and that she
did not apparently intend to return to her father's house. At this
time Reginald Morton himself was still at Hoppet Hall, and had
declared that he would remain there till after his marriage.
Pages:
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804