repeated,
"and that has inclined her to be rather selfish and fanciful."

The above statements, both regarding his own conduct and the effect of
that conduct upon his little ewe-lamb, nettled the amiable nobleman
considerably. He faced round upon the speaker with an intention of
reprimand, but in so doing his eyes were arrested by his daughter's
faded dress and disorganised complexion. He relented.--"Poor thing,
looks ill," he thought. "A man's an unworthy brute who ever says a
sharp word to a woman in her condition."--And, before he had time to
find a word other than sharp, Lady Louisa Barking returned to the
charge.

"Exactly," she asserted. "Alicia is perfectly right. At present Connie
is quite reasonable. And all we entreat, papa, is that you will let her
remain so, until you have made up your own mind. Do pray let us be
dignified. One knows how the servants get hold of anything of this kind
and discuss it, if there is any want of dignity or any indecision. That
is too odious. And I must really think just a little of Mr. Barking and
myself in the matter. It has all gone on in our house, you see. One
must consider appearances, and with all the recent gossip about
Shotover, we do not want another _esclandre_--the servants knowing all
about it too. And then, with all your partiality for Constance, you
cannot suppose she will have many opportunities of marrying men with
forty or fifty thousand a year."

"No, papa, as Louisa says, in your partiality for Connie you must not
entirely forget the claims of your other children. She must not be
encouraged to think exclusively of herself, and it is not fair that you
should think exclusively of her. I know that George and I are poor, but
it is through no fault of our own. He most honourably refuses to take
anything from his mother, and you know how small my private income is.
Yet no one can accuse George of lack of generosity. When any of my
family want to come to us he always makes them welcome. Maggie only
left us last Thursday, and Emily comes to-morrow. I know we can't do
much. It is not possible with our small means and establishment. But
what little we can do, George is most willing should be done."

"Excellent fellow, Winterbotham," Lord Fallowfeild put in soothingly.
"Very steady, painstaking man, Winterbotham."

His second daughter looked at him reproachfully.

"Thank you, papa," she said. "I own I was a little hurt just now by the
tone in which you alluded to G