“What am I to do for a maid?”
“My servant Read shall wait on you to-night and every evening and morning until our guests have gone; then Audrey’s maid Louisa will attend on you.”
“But I want a maid all to myself.”
“You cannot have one. Louisa will give you what assistance is necessary. I presume you do not want to be absolutely dependent; you would like to be able to do things for yourself.”
“In mother’s time I did everything for myself, but now it is different. I am a very, very rich girl now.”
Lady Frances was silent when Evelyn made this remark.
“I am rich, am I not, Aunt Frances?” said the little heiress almost timidly.
“I cannot see where the riches come in, Evelyn. At the present moment you depend on your uncle for every penny that is spent upon you.”
“But I am the heiress!”
“Let the future take care of itself. You are a little girl—small, insignificant, and ignorant. You require to be trained and looked after, and to have your character moulded, and for all these things you depend on the kindness of your relations. The fact is this, Evelyn: at present you have not the slightest idea of your true position. When you find your level I shall have hopes of you—not before.”