“Ride with him, and be happy while you can, dear child. Let mother kiss such foolish tears away. I can tell you father was proud of your beauty last night. He said you were the loveliest woman in London.”
“The Duke of Wellington told me I was a beautiful girl; and he said many wise and kind things to me, Mother. What did father think about the Reform Bill?”
“It troubled him, Kitty; it troubled him very much. He said, ‘It meant civil war;’ but I said, ‘Nonsense, John Atheling, it will prevent civil war.’ And so it will, dearie. The people will have it, or else they will have far more. Your father said all London was shouting till daybreak, ‘The Bill! The whole Bill! Nothing but the Bill!’ Now then, run away and wash your eyes bright, and put on your habit. I’ll warrant Piers outruns the clock.”
“Have you seen Edgar this morning?”
“For a few minutes just before you came. Cecil was with him. They had been up all night; but Cecil would have stayed if Annabel had been here. How he does love that girl!”
“I think she loves him. She looked ill last night, and I did not see her this morning. What a tangle it is! Annabel loves Cecil–Piers loves me–and the Duchess–”
“Never mind the Duchess, nor the tangle either, Kitty. To-day is yours; to-morrow is not born; and you are not told to unravel any tangle. There are them whose business it is; and they know all the knots and snarls, and will wind the ball all right in the end.”
“Oh, Mother, how I love you!”
“Oh, Kitty, how I love you!”
“Piers loves me too, Mother.”