So she never hinted
that it was possible for Arthur to keep his word pledged to Lucy
Harcourt, and, as she finished her letter and placed it in an envelope
with the one which Arthur had sent to Anna, her thoughts leaped
forward to the wedding she would give her niece--a wedding not quite
like that she had designed for Mrs. Thornton Hastings, but a quiet,
elegant affair, just suited to a clergyman who was marrying a Ruthven.
CHAPTER XI.
THE LETTER RECEIVED.
Arthur had been spending the evening at Prospect Hill. The Hethertons
had returned and would remain till after the fifteenth, and since they
had come the rector found it even pleasanter calling there than it had
been before, with only his bride-elect to entertain him. Sure of Dr.
Bellamy, Fanny had laid aside her sharpness, and was exceedingly witty
and brilliant, while, now that it was settled, the colonel was too
thoroughly a gentleman to be otherwise than gracious to his future
nephew; and Mrs. Hetherton was always polite and lady-like, so that
the rector looked forward with a good deal of interest to the evenings
he usually gave to Lucy, who, though satisfied to have him in her
sight, still preferred the olden time, when she had him all to herself
and was not disquieted with the fear that she did not know enough for
him, as she often was when she heard him talking with Fanny and her
uncle of things she did not understand.
Pages:
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113