never associated with
the persons in question, he thought her residence at home ought to be
reconsidered, and should be happy to discuss the point on coming to
Beauchamp, so soon as he should have recovered from an unfortunate fit of
the gout, which at present detained him in town. Miss Fulmort might,
however, be assured that her wishes should be his chief consideration,
and that he would take care not to separate her from Miss Maria.

That promise, and the absence of all mention of Lucilla's object of
dread, gave Phoebe courage to open the missive from her eldest sister.

'MY DEAR PHOEBE,

'I always told you it would never answer, and you see I was right.
If Mervyn will invite that horrid man, whatever you may do, no one
will believe that you do not associate with him, and you may never
get over it. I am telling everybody what children you are, quite in
the schoolroom, but nothing will be of any use but your coming away
at once, and appearing in society with me, so you had better send the
children to Acton Manor, and come to me next week. If there are any
teal in the decoy bring some, and ask Mervyn where he got that
Barton's dry champagne.

'Your affectionate sister,
'AUGUSTA BANNERMAN.'

She had kept Robert's letter to the last, as refreshment after the rest.

'St. Matthew's, Dec. 18th.

'DEAR PHOEBE,

'I am afraid this may not be your first intimation of what may vex
and grieve you greatly, and what calls for much cool and anxious
judgment. In you we have implicit confidence, and your adherence to
Miss Charlecote's kind advice has spared you all imputation, though
not, I fear, all pain. You may, perhaps, not know how disgraceful
are the characters of some of the persons whom Mervyn has collected
about him. I do him the justice to believe that he would shelter you
from all intercourse with them as carefully as I should; but I cannot
forgive his having brought them beneath the same roof with you. I
fear the fact has done harm in our own neighbourhood. People imagine
you to be associating with Mervyn's crew, and a monstrous report is
abroad which has caused Bevil Acton to write to me and to Crabbe. We
all agree that this is a betrayal of the confidence that you