CHAPTER VI.
THE VISIT TO THE HALL.
“The tulip and the butterfly
Appear in gayer coats than I;
Let me be dressed fine as I will,
Flies, flowers, and worms excel me still.”
Watts.
The visit of the sisters Aumerle, or rather the message which they had brought, had caused great excitement in the mind of Cecilia Bardon. One thought was now uppermost there, thrusting itself forward at all times, interfering with domestic duties, taking her attention even from her prayers; that thought was—how should she persuade her father to pay a visit to Dashleigh Hall!
Dr. Bardon held out against entreaties for two days; on the third he yielded, having probably all along only made show of fight to avoid seeming eagerly to catch at an invitation from a titled acquaintance.