Against her will, the verses she loved returned to her mind:
"The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent."
Hitherto she had happily considered those lines quite applicable to her general conduct. Even the disastrous morning at Mrs. Cox's had not left behind it the uncomfortable sensations she was now enduring.
She had not been six years in Mrs. Dew's charge without acquiring something of that good woman's sturdy independence.
She had asked for money.
She had taken it; and for a purpose she was certain the donor would disapprove.
He would call it "meretricious," that curious word Master Montagu had used. She had heard Mr. Wycherly use it too.
"A mind at peace with all below,
A heart where love is innocent!"
Should she go back and tell Mr. Wycherly why she wanted the money and let him decide? Then once more might she "walk in beauty like the night" with her hair all round her and a light heart.
But he would be certain to advise her not to buy the "Magnolia Bloom." He wouldn't forbid it. That was not his way. But he would make it impossible for her to go and buy it—and she wanted it so dreadfully.