kicked up such a row." Grace shook her head and looked gloomy and deeply
wise, replying that he had no cause to triumph--they were so far from
having seen the end of it yet. Thus he guessed that his mother had
complied with his wish on the calculation that it would be a mere form,
that Julia would entreat them not to be so fantastic and that he himself
would then, in the presence of her wounded surprise, consent to a quiet
continuance, so much in the interest--the air of Broadwood had a
purity!--of the health of all of them. But since Julia jumped at their
sacrifice he had no chance to be mollified: he had all grossly to
persist in having been right.

At bottom probably he was a little surprised at Julia's so prompt
assent. Literally speaking, it was not perfectly graceful. He was sorry
his mother had been so deceived, but was sorrier still for Biddy's
mistake--it showed she might be mistaken about other things. Nothing was
left now but for Lady Agnes to say, as she did substantially whenever
she saw him: "We're to prepare to spend the autumn at Worthing then or
some other horrible place? I don't know their names: it's the only thing
we can afford." There was an implication in this that if he expected her
to drag her girls about to country-houses in a continuance of the
fidgety effort to work them off he must understand at once that she was
now too weary and too sad and too sick. She had done her best for them
and it had all been vain and cruel--now therefore the poor creatures
must look out for themselves. To the grossness of Biddy's misconduct she
needn't refer, nor to the golden opportunity that young woman had
forfeited by her odious treatment of Mr. Grindon. It was clear that this
time Lady Agnes was incurably discouraged; so much so as to fail to
glean the dimmest light from the fact that the girl was really making a
long stay at Harsh. Biddy went to and fro two or three times and then in
August fairly settled there; and what her mother mainly saw in her
absence was the desire to keep out of the way of household reminders of
her depravity. In fact, as turned out, Lady Agnes and Grace gathered
themselves together in the first days of that month for another visit to
the very old lady who had been Sir Nicholas's godmother; after which
they went somewhere else--so that the question of Worthing had not
immediately to be faced.

Nick stayed on in London with the obsession of work humming in his ears;
he was joyfully co