But she
was afraid, and was conscious of it, and was out of temper because she
was ashamed of herself. Although it would be necessary that she should
again dress for dinner at six, she had put on a clean cap at four, and
appeared at that early hour in one of her gowns which was not
customarily in use for home purposes at that early hour. She felt that
she was 'an old fool' for her pains, and was consequently cross to poor
Dorothy. And there were other reasons for some display of harshness to
her niece. Mr Gibson had been at the house that very morning, and
Dorothy had given herself airs. At least, so Miss Stanbury thought. And
during the last three or four days, whenever Mr Gibson's name had been
mentioned, Dorothy had become silent, glum, and almost obstructive.
Miss Stanbury had been at the trouble of explaining that she was
specially anxious to have that little matter of the engagement settled
at once. She knew that she was going to behave with great generosity,
that she was going to sacrifice, not her money only, of which she did
not think much, but a considerable portion of her authority, of which
she did think a great deal; and that she was about to behave in a
manner which demanded much gratitude.
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