NearlyallthatsheknewofthefamilyinteriorshehadheardfromMrsHamley，andshewasuncertainastohowfarherfatherwasacquaintedwiththem；soshedidnotliketoquestionhimtooclosely；norwasheamantobesoquestionedastothedomesticaffairsofhispatients。Sometimesshewonderedifitwasadream—thatshorthalfhourinthelibraryatHamleyHall—whenshehadlearntafactwhichseemedsoall—importanttoOsborne，yetwhichmadesolittledifferenceinhiswayoflife—eitherinspeechoraction。DuringthetwelveorfourteenhoursorsothatshehadremainedattheHallafterwards，nofurtherallusionhadbeenmadetohismarriage，eitherbyhimselforbyRoger。Itwas，indeed，verylikeadream。ProbablyMollywouldhavebeenrenderedmuchmoreuncomfortableinthepossessionofhersecretifOsbornehadstruckherasparticularlyattentiveinhisdevotiontoCynthia。Sheevidentlyamusedandattractedhim，butnotinanylivelyorpassionatekindofmanner。Headmiredherbeauty，andseemedtofeelhercharm；buthewouldleaveherside，andcometositnearMolly，ifanythingremindedhimofhismother，aboutwhichhecouldtalktoher，andtoheralone。YethecamesooftentotheGibsons’，thatMrsGibsonmightbeexcusedforthefancyshehadtakenintoherhead，thatitwasforCynthia’ssake。Helikedthelounge，thefriendliness，thecompanyoftwointelligentgirlsofbeautyandmannersabovetheaverage；

　　oneofwhomstoodinapeculiarrelationtohim，ashavingbeenespeciallybelovedbythemotherwhosememoryhecherishedsofondly。Knowinghimselftobeoutofthecategoryofbachelors，hewas，perhaps，tooindifferentastootherpeople’signorance，anditspossibleconsequences。Somehow，MollydidnotliketobethefirsttointroduceRoger’snameintotheconversation，soshelostmanyanopportunityofhearingintelligenceabouthim。Osbornewasoftensolanguidorsoabsentthatheonlyfollowedtheleadoftalk；andasanawkwardfellow，whohadpaidhernoparticularattention，andasasecondson，Rogerwasnotpre—eminentinMrsGibson’sthoughts；Cynthiahadneverseenhim，andthefreakdidnottakeheroftentospeakabouthim。Hehadnotcomehomesincehehadobtainedhishighplaceinthemathematicallists：thatMollyknew；andsheknew，too，thathewasworkinghardforsomething—shesupposedafellowship—andthatwasall。Osborne’stoneinspeakingofhimwasalwaysthesame：everyword，everyinflexionofthevoicebreathedoutaffectionandrespect—nay，evenadmiration！Andthisfromtheniladmiraribrother，whoseldomcarriedhisexertionssofar。’Ah，Roger！’hesaidoneday。Mollycaughtthenameinaninstant，thoughshehadnotheardwhathadgonebefore。’Heisafellowinathousand—

　　inathousand，indeed！Idon’tbelievethereishismatchanywhereforgoodnessandrealsolidpowercombined。’’Molly，’saidCynthia，afterMrOsborneHamleyhadgone，’whatsortofamanisthisRogerHamley？Onecan’ttellhowmuchtobelieveofhisbrother’spraises；foritistheonesubjectonwhichOsborneHamleybecomesenthusiastic。

　　I’venoticeditonceortwicebefore。’WhileMollyhesitatedonwhichpointofthelargeroundtobeginherdescription，MrsGibsonstruckin，—’ItjustshowswhatasweetdispositionOsborneHamleyisof—thatheshouldpraisehisbrotherashedoes。Idaresayheisseniorwrangler，andmuchgoodmayitdohim！Idon’tdenythat；butasforconversation，he’sasheavyasheavycanbe。Agreatawkwardfellowtoboot，wholooksasifhedidnotknowtwoandtwomadefour，forallheissuchamathematicalgenius。YouwouldhardlybelievehewasOsborneHamley’sbrothertoseehim！Ishouldnotthinkhehadaprofileatall。’’Whatdoyouthinkofhim，Molly？’saidtheperseveringCynthia。’Ilikehim，’saidMolly。’Hehasbeenverykindtome。Iknowheisn’thandsomelikeOsborne。’Itwasratherdifficulttosayallthisquietly，butMollymanagedtodoit，quiteawarethatCynthiawouldnotresttillshehadextractedsomekindofanopinionoutofher。’IsupposehewillcomehomeatEaster，’saidCynthia，’andthenIshallseehimformyself。’’It’sagreatpitythattheirbeinginmourningwillpreventtheirgoingtotheEastercharityball，’saidMrsGibson，plaintively。’Ishan’tliketotakeyoutwogirls，ifyouarenottohaveanypartners。Itwillputmeinsuchanawkwardposition。IwishwecouldjoinontotheTowersparty。

　　Thatwouldsecureyoupartners，fortheyalwaysbringanumberofdancingmen，whomightdancewithyouaftertheyhaddonetheirdutybytheladiesofthehouse。ButreallyeverythingissochangedsincedearLadyCumnorhasbeenaninvalidthatperhapstheywon’tgoatall。’ThisEasterballwasagreatsubjectofconversationwithMrsGibson。Shesometimesspokeofitasherfirstappearanceinsocietyasabride，thoughshehadbeenvisitingonceortwiceaweekallwinterlong。Thensheshiftedherground，andsaidshefeltsomuchinterestinit，becauseshewouldthenhavetheresponsibilityofintroducingbothherownandMrGibson’sdaughtertopublicnotice，thoughthefactwasthatprettynearlyeveryonewhowasgoingtothisballhadseenthetwoyoungladies—thoughnottheirballdresses—before。But，apingthemannersofthearistocracyasfarassheknewthem，sheintendedto’bringout’MollyandCynthiaonthisoccasion，whichsheregardedinsomethingofthelightofapresentationatCourt。’Theyarenotoutyet，’washerfavouriteexcusewheneitherofthemwasinvitedtoanyhousetowhichshedidnotwishthemtogo，orinvitedwithouther。Sheevenmadeadifficultyabouttheir’notbeingout’whenMissBrowning—thatoldfriendoftheGibsonfamily—cameinonemorningtoaskthetwogirlstocometoaveryfriendlyteaandaroundgameafterwards；thismildpieceofgaietybeingdesignedasanattentiontothreeofMrsGoodenough’sgrandchildren—twoyoungladiesandtheirschool—boybrother—whowerestayingonavisittotheirgrandmamma。’Youareverykind，MissBrowning，butyouseeIhardlyliketoletthemgo—theyarenotout，youknow，tillaftertheEasterball。’’Tillwhenweareinvisible，’saidCynthia，alwaysreadywithhermockerytoexaggerateanypretensionofhermother’s。’Wearesohighinrankthatoursovereignmustgiveushersanctionbeforewecanplayaroundgameatyourhouse。’Cynthiaenjoyedtheideaofherownfull—grownsizeandstatelygait，ascontrastedwiththatofameek，half—fledgedgirlinthenursery；butMissBrowningwashalfpuzzledandhalfaffronted。’Idon’tunderstanditatall。Inmydaysgirlswentwhereveritpleasedpeopletoaskthem，withoutthisfarceofburstingoutinalltheirnewfineclothesatsomepublicplace。Idon’tmeanbutwhatthegentrytooktheirdaughterstoYork，orMatlock，orBathtogivethematasteofgaysocietywhentheyweregrowingup；andthequalitywentuptoLondon，andtheiryoungladieswerepresentedtoQueenCharlotte，andwenttoabirthdayball，perhaps。ButforuslittleHollingfordpeople，whywekneweverychildamongstusfromthedayofitsbirth；andmanyagirloftwelveorfourteenhaveIseengoouttoacard—party，andsitquietatherwork，andknowhowtobehaveaswellasanyladythere。Therewasnotalkof\"comingout\"inthosedaysforanyoneunderthedaughterofasquire。’’AfterEaster，MollyandIshallknowhowtobehaveatacard—party，butnotbefore，’saidCynthia，demurely。’You’realwaysfondofyourquipsandyourcranks，’mydear，’saidMissBrowning，’andIwouldn’tquiteanswerforyourbehaviour：yousometimesletyourspiritscarryyouaway。ButI’mquitesureMollywillbealittleladyasshealwaysis，andalwayswas，andIhaveknownherfromababe。’MrsGibsontookuparmsonbehalfofherowndaughter，orrather，shetookuparmsagainstMolly’spraises。’Idon’tthinkyouwouldhavecalledMollyaladytheotherday，MissBrowning，ifyouhadfoundherwhereIdid：sittingupinacherry—tree，sixfeetfromthegroundatleast，Idoassureyou。’’Oh！butthatwasn’tpretty，’saidMissBrowning，shakingherheadatMolly。

......

购买会员看全站小说，或者下载APP免费观看所有作品 点击立即下载，搜索"WIVES AND DAUGHTERS",免费读到尾