"Do you not know," answered Lady Tilney, "that the ceremony is to take place in a church?"
"La! does it? What a strange fancy!" drawled Lady Ellersby; "but I should never think of giving any advice to Lady Melcomb—I never do, to any body."
"Dat Mademoiselle Melcomb, vid all her imbecile niaiserie, seems not to have played her part amiss."
"I think she will turn out better than one could have supposed," rejoined Lady Tenderden, "when she becomes un peu plus façonné."
"Do tell me who are the invited?" interrupted Lady Tilney, addressing Lady Ellersby.
"Oh, half London, to be sure; such a quantity of tiresome relations, and so much property, and family dignity, there will be no end of all the cousins—don't you know they are just the sort of people who teem with relations?"
"But who is there of the party that one knows?" replied Lady Tilney.
"Oh, there are ourselves, and the Duke of Mercington, and the Boileaus, and Baskervilles, I believe; I fancy too the Duke and Duchess D'Hermanton, and some of that set, are also among the priés, but I must go now en qualité de cousine, and leave my card with the Melcombs, and then I shall go on to Kitchener's, who has the resetting of the family diamonds. I am told they are magnificent; and I should so like to persuade Lord Ellersby to let mine be reset too, I have had them three years in their present form, and am so tired of them as they are—he, he, he!—well—adieu, we shall meet to-night at Lady De Chere's?"
"Avouez moi qu'elle passe la permission qu'ou a d'être bête," observed Lady Tenderden, as she left the room.
"May be so, but she is a very old friend of mine, and besides, she is perfectly comme il faut, and after all, that sort of thing gets on in the world just as well as talent."