“Can you so, my good little fellow? then let us begone directly,” said Lady Frances.
“You’ll excuse me, sister,” said Lady Di.
“Excuse you!—I will, but the world will not. You’ll be abused, sister, shockingly abused.”
This assertion made more impression upon Lady Di. Chillingworth than could have been made either by argument or entreaty.
“One really does not know how to act—people take so much notice of every thing that is said and done by persons of a certain rank: if you think that I shall be so much abused—I absolutely do not know what to say.”
“But I thought,” interposed Miss Burrage, “that Lady Frances was going to take you to the play to-night, Miss Hope?”
“Oh, never heed the play—never heed the play, or Clara Hope—never heed taking me to the play: Lady Frances is going to do a better thing.—Come on, my bonny boy,” said she to the little French boy, who was following them.
We must now return to our heroine, whom we left on her way to Mrs. Bertrand’s. Mrs. Bertrand kept a large confectionary and fruit shop in Bristol.
“Please to walk through this way, ma’am—Miss Hodges is above stairs—she shall be apprized directly—Jenny! run up stairs,” said Mrs. Bertrand to her maid—“run up stairs, and tell Miss Hodges here’s a young lady wants to see her in a great hurry—You’d best sit down, ma’am,” continued Mrs. Bertrand to Angelina, “till the girl has been up with the message.”
“Oh, my Araminta! how my heart beats!” exclaimed Miss Warwick.