“That is not at all complimentary to his lordship.”
“I did not mean to be complimentary, Fanny.”
“Lucy is a great deal too matter-of-fact for compliments,” said Mark.
“What I meant was, that I had no great opportunity for judging, seeing that I was only with Lord Lufton for about ten minutes.”
“Ah! but there are girls here who would give their eyes for ten minutes of Lord Lufton to themselves. You do not know how he’s valued. He has the character of being always able to make himself agreeable to ladies at half a minute’s warning.”
“Perhaps he had not the half-minute’s warning in this case,” said Lucy,—hypocrite that she was.
“Poor Lucy,” said her brother; “he was coming up to see Ponto’s shoulder, and I am afraid he was thinking more about the dog than you.”
“Very likely,” said Lucy; and then they went in to dinner.
Lucy had been a hypocrite, for she had confessed to herself, while dressing, that Lord Lufton had been very pleasant; but then it is allowed to young ladies to be hypocrites when the subject under discussion is the character of a young gentleman.
Soon after that, Lucy did dine at Framley Court. Captain Culpepper, in spite of his enormity with reference to Gatherum Castle, was still staying there, as was also a clergyman from the neighbourhood of Barchester with his wife and daughter. This was Archdeacon Grantly, a gentleman whom we have mentioned before, and who was as well known in the diocese as the bishop himself,—and more thought about by many clergymen than even that illustrious prelate.