From to-morrow she determined to lay to heart the doctor's counsel, to
try whether he could not be persuaded to stand a little coddling,
whether he might not be brought to, if only she could persuade herself
to show him more love. When she looked at the Mildmays she understood
what had perhaps been in the doctor's mind; dear Lady Mildmay (she was a
woman who immediately claimed that epithet with its expression of
mingled affection and ridicule) no doubt overdid a little her pleasant
part. She made Sir Winterton a trifle absurd. But then with what
chivalry he faced and covered the touch of absurdity, or avoided it
without offending the love that caused it! Very glad she was that, when
Lady Mildmay asked to be introduced, she could clasp hands with the
consciousness that her side had played fair, and by a delicate distant
reference could honestly assure the enemy's wife that both she and her
husband had looked with disfavour on that unpleasant episode.
She had known she would like Sir Winterton and was not disappointed; she
saw that he was very favourably impressed by her, largely, no doubt,
because she was handsome, even more because their ways of looking at
things would be very much the same; they had the same pride and the same
sensitiveness; in humour he was not her match, or he would not have
ridden his high horse.
Pages:
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290