However, she had to meet them sooner or later, and as Tom was so anxious, it was best to go.
Tom was delighted when she told him she would accept his mother's invitation. His face glowed with satisfaction as he expressed his thanks.
'You will like my dear mother so much, Mary, and Louise will be a delightful companion for you, darling. She is such a sweet, sensible girl, and a prodigious housekeeper. You will learn a great deal from her.'
'I have no doubt I shall like your mother,' says Mary, not very enthusiastically, it must be confessed.
Tom's face falls.
'And Limeton, Mary; it's such a splendid city—quite different from this place.'
Mary fancies she detects a slight deprecatory tone in the way he says 'this place.'
'Yes, I suppose it is very different. Horridly dirty, isn't it?
'Not more dirty than a prosperous manufacturing city must inevitably be, and within a mile all round there is the loveliest scenery you can imagine. Our place is about a mile from the city, so the dirt will not annoy you; and you will meet such pleasant people there that you will not mind the smoke. I am sure, Mary, you will come away quite in love with Limeton, and prefer it to this prim old place.'
'Prefer it to Mapleton? Never.'