'For my part,' said Miss Broadhurst, 'my mother would 'labour that point of secrecy in vain for me; for I am willing to tell my age, even if my face did not tell it for me, to all whom it may concern. I am past three-and-twenty—shall be four-and-twenty the 5th of next July.'
'Three-and-twenty! Bless me! I thought you were not twenty!' cried Lady Anne.
'Four-and-twenty next July!—impossible!' cried Lady Catharine.
'Very possible,' said Miss Broadhurst, quite unconcerned.
'Now, Lord Colambre, would you believe it? Can you believe it?' asked Lady Catharine.
'Yes, he can,' said Miss Broadhurst. 'Don't you see that he believes it as firmly as you and I do? Why should you force his lordship to pay a compliment contrary to his better judgment, or to extort a smile from him under false pretences? I am sure he sees that you, ladies, and I trust he perceives that I, do not think the worse of him for this.'
Lord Colambre smiled now without any false pretence; and, relieved at once from all apprehension of her joining in his mother's views, or of her expecting particular attention from him, he became at ease with Miss Broadhurst, shelved a desire to converse with her, and listened eagerly to what she said. He recollected that Grace Nugent had told him that this young lady had no common character; and, neglecting his move at chess, he looked up at Grace as much as to say, 'DRAW HER OUT, pray.'
But Grace was too good a friend to comply with that request; she left Miss Broadhurst to unfold her own character.
'It is your move, my lord,' said Lady Catharine.
'I beg your ladyship's pardon—'