butnot，Iamsure，toanEnglishmanwhoisthinkingofanEnglishwife。’Thischoiceofasongwasexceedinglymal—à；propos，hadMrsGibsonbutknownit。OsborneandRogerknowingthatthewifeoftheformerwasaFrenchwoman，and，consciousofeachother’sknowledge，feltdoublyawkward。whileMollywasasmuchconfusedasthoughsheherselfweresecretlymarried。However，Cynthiacarolledthesaucydittyout，andhermothersmiledatit，intotalignoranceofanyapplicationitmighthave。OsbornehadinstinctivelygonetostandbehindCynthia，asshesateatthepiano，soastobereadytoturnovertheleavesofhermusicifsherequiredit。Hekepthishandsinhispocketsandhiseyesfixedonherfingers；
hiscountenancecloudedwithgravityatallthemerryquipswhichshesoplayfullysang。Rogerlookedgraveaswell，butwasmuchmoreathiscasethanhisbrother；indeed，hewashalf—amusedbytheawkwardnessofthesituation。HecaughtMolly’stroubledeyesandheightenedcolour，andhesawthatshewasfeelingthiscontretempsmoreseriouslythansheneededtodo。Hemovedtoaseatbyher，andhalfwhispered，’Toolateawarning，isitnot？’Mollylookedupathimasheleanttowardsher，andrepliedinthesametone，—’Oh，Iamsosorry！’’Youneednotbe。Hewon’tminditlong；andamanmusttaketheconsequenceswhenheputshimselfinafalseposition。’Mollycouldnottellwhattoreplytothis，soshehungherheadandkeptsilence。YetshecouldseethatRogerdidnotchangehisattitudeorremovehishandfromthebackofhischair，and，impelledbycuriositytofindoutthecauseofhisstillness，shelookedupathimatlength，andsawhisgazefixedonthetwowhowerenearthepiano。OsbornewassayingsomethingeagerlytoCynthia，whosegraveeyeswereupturnedtohimwithsoftintentnessofexpression，andherprettymouthhalf—open，withasortofimpatienceforhimtoceasespeaking，thatshemightreply。’TheyaretalkingaboutFrance，’saidRoger，inanswertoMolly’sunspokenquestion。’Osborneknowsitwell，andMissKirkpatrickhasbeenatschoolthere，youknow。Itsoundsveryinteresting；shallwegonearerandhearwhattheyaresaying？’Itwasallverywelltoaskthiscivilly，butMollythoughtitwouldhavebeenbettertowaitforheranswer。Insteadofwaiting，however，Rogerwenttothepiano，and，leaningonit，appearedtojoininthelightmerrytalk，whilehefeastedhiseyesasmuchashedaredbylookingatCynthia。
Mollysuddenlyfeltasifshecouldscarcelykeepfromcrying—aminuteagohehadbeensoneartoher，andtalkingsopleasantlyandconfidentially；
andnowhealmostseemedasifhehadforgottenherexistence。Shethoughtthatallthiswaswrong；andsheexaggerateditswrongnesstoherself；
’mean，’and’enviousofCynthia，’and’ill—natured，’and’selfish，’werethetermsshekeptapplyingtoherself；butitdidnogood，shewasjustasnaughtyatthelastasatthefirst。MrsGibsonbrokeintothestateofthingswhichMollythoughtwastoendureforever。Herworkhadbeenintricateuptothistime，andhadrequiredagreatdealofcounting；soshehadhadnotimetoattendtoherduties，oneofwhichshealwaystooktobetoshowherselftotheworldasanimpartialstepmother。Cynthiahadplayedandsung，andnowshemustgiveMollyherturnofexhibition。Cynthia’ssingingandplayingwaslightandgraceful，butanythingbutcorrect；butsheherselfwassocharming，thatitwasonlyfanaticsformusicwhocaredforfalsechordsandomittednotes。Molly，onthecontrary，hadanexcellentear，ifshehadeverbeenwelltaught；
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