He
was, in his helpless and morbid state, afraid of so young a child, and
little Owen was equally afraid of him; each dreaded contact with the
other, and more than all the being shut into a room together; and the
little boy, half shy, half assured, filled by the old woman with notions
of his own grandeur, and yet constrained by the different atmosphere of
Woolstone-lane, was never at ease or playful enough before him to be
pleasant to watch. And, indeed, his Cockney pronunciation and ungainly
vulgar tricks had been so summarily repressed by his aunt, that his fear
of both the ladies rendered him particularly unengaging and unchildlike.
Nevertheless, Honora thought it her duty to take him home with her to the
Holt, and gratified Robert by engaging a nice little girl of fourteen,
whom Lucilla called the crack orphan, to be his attendant when they
should leave town. This was to be about a fortnight after the wedding,
since St. Wulstan's afforded greater opportunities for privacy and
exemption from bustle than even Hiltonbury, and Dr. Prendergast and his
daughter could attend without being in the house.

The Prendergasts of Southminster were very kind and friendly, sending
Lucilla warm greetings, and not appearing at all disconcerted at
welcoming their former governess into the family. The elders professed
no surprise, but great gladness; and Sarah, who _was_ surprised, was
trebly rejoiced. Owen accused his sister of selecting her solitary
bridesmaid with a view to enhancing her own beauty by force of contrast;
but the choice was prompted by real security of the affectionate pleasure
it would confer. Handsome presents were sent both by the Beaumonts and
Bostocks, and Lucilla, even while half fretted, half touched by Mrs.
Bostock's patronizing felicitations, could not but be pleased at these
evidences that her governess-ship had not been an utter failure.

Her demeanour in the fortnight before her marriage was unlike what her
friends had ever seen, and made them augur better for Mr. Prendergast's
venture. She was happy, but subdued; quiet and womanly, gentle without
being sad, grave but not drooping; and though she was cheerful and
playful, with an entire absence of those strange effervescences that had
once betrayed acidity or fermentation. She had found the power of being
affectionately grateful to Honor, and the sweetness of her tender ways
towards her and Owen would have made the parting all the sadder to them