"'Tis not hard to be generous when some one else pays the bills," answered Mrs. Thorpe. "However, we will not judge the poor thing. Her notice was at least kindly meant. Perhaps if her children had lived she would have been different. But, my young ladies, though I do not like to deprive you of a pleasure, I fear I must banish you forth of this parlor during business hours. 'Tis too public a place for ladies of quality, and I have no mind to have you brought under the notice of Captain Lovelace and others of his stamp, of whom we have at present only too many in the town. So, my dears, you will amuse yourselves as well as you can in your own room."
We had now no choice but to withdraw, and were soon seated in our own pretty parlor.
"So it seems we are to be imprisoned in this dull room for the future!" said I, pettishly enough. "One might as well be in the convent again, as shut up in this poky place."
"You did not think it poky at first!" said Amabel. "And I think, Lucy, Mrs. Thorpe is right about our sitting in the shop. I am sure Mother Prudentia would say the same, if she were here."
"Mother Prudentia is not our governor now," I replied.
"No! But Mrs. Thorpe is, now that our relations have put us under her care. I must say, I don't care to see that Captain Lovelace again; I thought him very rude," answered Amabel with a flash of her eye, such as I had hardly ever seen before.
"You did not think Mr. Cheriton rude, when he gave you those flowers over the wall this morning!" said I.
"That was very different!" answered Amabel. "I am sure, Lucy, you can't compare Mr. Cheriton's manners with those of Captain Lovelace. Mrs. Thorpe herself was by and saw no harm. But I don't think it is very nice to be talking about young men in this way."
"One may as well talk of them as think of them, I suppose!" I answered, rather flippantly.
Amabel made me no answer, but withdrawing into a corner, she laid aside Mr. Thomson's poems, and, betook herself to her book of "Hours," which had been rather neglected of late. I took up my work, and we sat in silence, till called to dinner.