“I am not quite sure. But he will dine here tomorrow.”
XI. LADY THICKNESSE CONSULTS SIR BRIDGNORTH.
|Lord Courland did not call on that morning; but Scrope did, and had a private conference with Lady Thicknesse in her boudoir.
He looked very grave as he addressed her.
“Your matrimonial scheme is at an end, my dear aunt,” he said. “Courland has fallen desperately in love with Mrs. Calverley.”
Her ladyship uttered a cry of astonishment.
“He declares she is the most charming woman he ever met. I feel certain he will propose to her. Now what is to be done?”
“It seems embarrassing, certainly. But you need have no uneasiness. I have just been talking to her. He won't be accepted.”