Idon’tcareaboutit—that’stosay，nottosignify。’’Whydidyoutakemeupsosharp，Roger？’saidhisfatherpettishly。’Youalltakemeupsohastilynow—a—days。Ithinkit’shardwhenamanmustn’tbeallowedabitofcrossnesswhenhe’stiredandheavyatheart—thatIdo。’’But，father，Ishouldneverliketogotoahousewheretheyhadslightedyou。’’Nay，nay，lad，’saidthesquire，brighteningupalittle；’IthinkIslightedthem。Theyaskedmetodinneraftermylordwasmadelieutenanttimeaftertime，butIneverwouldgonear’em。Icallthatmyslightingthem。’Andnomorewassaidatthetime；butthenextdaythesquireagainstoppedRoger。’I’vebeenmakingJemtryonhislivery—coatthathehasn’twornthisthreeorfouryears，—he’sgottoostoutforitnow。’’Well，heneedn’twearit，needhe？andMorgan’sladwillbegladenoughofit，—he’ssadlyinwantofclothes。’’Ay，ay；butwho’stogowithyouwhenyoucallattheTowers？It’sbutpolitetocallafterLordWhat’s—his—namehastakenthetroubletocomehere；andIshouldn’tlikeyoutogowithoutagroom。’’Mydearfather！Ishouldn’tknowwhattodowithamanridingatmyback。
Icanfindmywaytothestable—yardformyself，orthere’llbesomemanabouttotakemyhorse。Don’ttroubleyourselfaboutthat。’’Well，you’renotOsborne，tobesure。Perhapsitwon’tstrike’emasstrangeforyou。Butyoumustlookup，andholdyourown，andrememberyou’reoneoftheHamleys，who’vebeenonthesamelandforhundredsofyears，whilethey’rebuttrumperyWhigfolkwhoonlycameintothecountyinQueenAnne’stime。’
chapter28CHAPTERXXVIIIRIVALRYForsomedaysaftertheballCynthiaseemedlanguid，andwasverysilent。
Molly，whohadpromisedherselffullyasmuchenjoymentintalkingoverthepastgaietywithCynthiaasintheeveningitself，wasdisappointedwhenshefoundthatallconversationonthesubjectwasratherevadedthanencouraged。MrsGibson，itistrue，wasreadytogooverthegroundasmanytimesasanyoneliked；butherwordswerealwayslikeready—madeclothes，andneverfittedindividualthoughts。Anybodymighthaveusedthem，and，withachangeofpropernames，theymighthaveservedtodescribeanyball。Sherepeatedlyusedthesamelanguageinspeakingaboutit，tillMollyknewthesentencesandtheirsequenceeventoirritation。’Ah！MrOsborne，youshouldhavebeenthere！Isaidtomyselfmanyatimehowyoureallyshouldhavebeenthere—youand，yourbrotherofcourse。’’Ithoughtofyouveryoftenduringtheevening！’’Didyou？NowthatIcallverykindofyou。Cynthia，darling！DoyouhearwhatMrOsborneHamleywassaying？’asCynthiacameintotheroomjustthen。’Hethoughtofusallontheeveningoftheball。’’Hedidbetterthanmerelyrememberusthen，’saidCynthia，withhersoftslowsmile。’Weowehimthanksforthosebeautifulflowers，mamma。’’Oh！’saidOsborne，’youmustnotthankmeexclusively。Ibelieveitwasmythought，butRogertookallthetroubleofit。’’Iconsiderthethoughtaseverything，’saidMrsGibson。’Thoughtisspiritual，whileactionismerelymaterial。’Thisfinesentencetookthespeakerherselfbysurprise；andinsuchconversationaswasthengoingon，itisnotnecessarytoaccuratelydefinethemeaningofeverythingthatissaid。’I’mafraidtheflowersweretoolatetobeofmuchusethough，’continuedOsborne。’ImetPrestonthenextmorning，andofcoursewetalkedabouttheball。Iwassorrytofindhehadbeenbeforehandwithus，’’Heonlysentonenosegay，andthatwasforCynthia，’saidMolly，lookingupfromherwork。’AnditdidnotcometillafterwehadreceivedtheflowersfromHamley。’MollycaughtasightofCynthia’sfacebeforeshebentdownagaintohersewing。Itwasscarletincolour，andtherewasaflashofangerinhereyes。BothsheandhermotherhastenedtospeakassoonasMollyhadfinished，butCynthia’svoicewaschokedwithpassion，andMrsGibsonhadtheword。’MrPreston’sbouquetwasjustoneofthoseformalaffairsanyonecanbuyatanursery—garden，whichalwaysstrikemeashavingnosentimentinthem。IwouldfarratherhavetwoorthreeliliesofthevalleygatheredformebyapersonIlike，thanthemostexpensivebouquetthatcouldbebought！’’MrPrestonhadnobusinesstospeakasifhehadforestalledyou，’saidCynthia。’Itcamejustaswewerereadytogo，andIputitintothefiredirectly。’’Cynthia，mydearlove！’saidMrsGibson（whohadneverheardofthefateoftheflowersuntilnow），’whatanideaofyourselfyouwillgivetoMrOsborneHamley；buttobesure，Icanquiteunderstandit。Youinheritmyfeeling—myprejudice—sentimentalIgrant，againstboughtflowers。’Cynthiawassilentforamoment；thenshesaid，’Iusedsomeofyourflowers，MrHamley，todressMolly’shair。Itwasagreattemptation，forthecoloursoexactlymatchedhercoralornaments；butIbelieveshethoughtittreacheroustodisturbthearrangement，soIoughttotakealltheblameonmyself。’’Thearrangementwasmybrother’s，asItoldyou；butIamsurehewouldhavepreferredseeingtheminMissGibson’shairratherthanintheblazingfire。MrPrestoncomesfartheworstoff。’Osbornewasratheramusedatthewholeaffair，andwouldhavelikedtoprobeCynthia’smotivesalittlefarther。HedidnothearMollysayinginassoftavoiceasifsheweretalkingtoherself，’Iworeminejustastheyweresent，’forMrsGibsoncameinwithatotalchangeofsubject。’Speakingofliliesofthevalley，isittruethattheygrowwildinHurstWood？Itisnottheseasonforthemtobeinfloweryet；butwhenitis，Ithinkwemusttakeawalkthere—withourluncheoninabasket—alittlepicnicinfact。You’lljoinus，won’tyou？’turningtoOsborne。’Ithinkit’sacharmingplan！YoucouldridetoHollingfordandputupyourhorsehere，andwewouldhavealongdayinthewoodsandallcomehometodinner—dinnerwithabasketofliliesinthemiddleofthetable！’’Ishouldlikeitverymuch，’saidOsborne；’butImaynotbeathome。
Rogerismorelikelytobehere，Ibelieve，atthattime—amonthhence。’
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