Mrs. Masters did, I think, like
the honour and glory of the big house, but she would never admit
that she did. And when she was constrained once or twice in the
year to give a dinner to her step-daughter's husband and Lady
Ushant, that, I think, was really a period of discomfort to her.
When at Bragton she could at any rate be quiet, and Mary's
caressing care almost made the place pleasant to her.
Mr. Runciman prospers at the Bush, though he has entirely lost his
best customer, Lord Rufford. But the U.R.U. is still strong, in
spite of the philosophers, and in the hunting season the boxes of
the Bush Inn are full of horses. The club goes on without much
change, Mr. Masters being very regular in his attendance,
undeterred by the grandeur of his new household. And Larry is
always there,--with increased spirit, for he has dined two or three
times lately at Hampton Wick, having met young Hampton at the
Squire's house at Bragton. On this point Fred Botsey was for a time
very jealous;--but he found that Larry's popularity was not to be
shaken, and now is very keen in pushing an intimacy with the owner
of Chowton Farm. Perhaps the most stirring event in the
neighbourhood has been the retirement of Captain Glomax from the
post of Master. When the season was over he made an application to
Lord Rufford respecting certain stable and kennel expenses, which
that nobleman snubbed very bluntly.
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