(Which, with the advent
of Mr. Ossory, was happening less and less frequently.)
The only
thing to mar the high spirits of the party occurred after dinner, when the
gentlemen rejoined the ladies in the drawing room. In the general conversation that followed,
Mrs. Dalton turned to her daughter and said, “Oh, I forgot to ask you how Mrs.
Covington is. Did you call on her as I
asked?” Before Selina could reply, Mrs.
Dalton turned to her hostess and explained that Mrs. Covington was the widow of
their cousin, and that she lived in town.
Selina’s
eyes flew to Malcolm, hoping against hope that he was involved in conversation
and had missed her mother’s remark. She
was disappointed to find that he was staring right at her. Her next thought was that Julia might intervene,
but Julia was speaking to her cousin and was oblivious to what was
happening. Selina had no choice but to
answer her mother.
“Yes, I
did visit Mrs. Covington. She paid a
visit to me at the Thistlewaite’s town house, as well.”
“Good, I
am glad to hear it.” Mrs. Dalton turned
again to Lady Kilbourne. “Mrs. Covington
is not really a close connection, her husband was a second cousin only, but she
is a widow. And Mr. Dalton and I have
always taught Selina to show compassion to those in less fortunate circumstances.”
Lady
Kilbourne agreed that this was a good attitude to have, and the conversation
soon turned to another subject. Selina,
however, contributed very little to the discussion. She was completely embarrassed to have been
caught lying by Mr. Malcolm, particularly when at practically the same moment
her mother was praising her principled upbringing. She kept her eyes downcast, waiting
impatiently for a time when she could excuse herself.
“Selina,”
she heard someone say, and looking up, saw Malcolm had sat down in the chair at
her left.
Selina
quickly looked down again. “Mr.
Malcolm,” she said. “Pray excuse me, I
am not feeling well—”
“Selina,”
Malcolm said again, cutting her off. “It
does not matter to me that Mrs. Covington is your cousin, and I am sorry if I
gave you that impression.”
“She is
not actually my cousin,” Selina began, but then interrupted herself to
say, “It is I who must apologize, Mr. Malcolm. I am so dreadfully embarrassed. What must you think of me?”
“I think
that you must have been concerned for my good opinion and thought, if you told
me the truth, that you would lose it. It
is my fault, for I look back on that occasion with shame. I sounded dreadfully priggish, even arrogant,
and I have heartily regretted it many times since.”
“Even so,
that was no excuse for me to lie . The only thing I can say in my defense is that I wanted to tell you the
truth, but that Julia—” Selina paused, realizing it was not the thing to
cast blame on someone else. “Well,
anyway, I did want to tell you the truth.”
“I
believe you,” Malcolm said. “Now, let’s
forget this foolish incident. It does
neither of us good to harp on it.”
Later
that evening as Selina prepared for bed, she thought how pleased she was that
her mother had introduced Mrs. Covington into the conversation, even though it
had proved embarrassing initially. Her
doubts about Malcolm’s character had been based on Julia’s statements about him
and his disdainful remarks regarding Mrs. Covington. Now, after Malcolm’s apology, she no longer
had any serious reservations about him. Julia’s aversion to Malcolm was becoming more and more recognizable as
wounded pride and could be dismissed, along with her spiteful comments. Mr. Malcolm had his faults like anyone else,
but as far as Selina was concerned, he was close to perfect.
Selina’s
daydreaming was interrupted by a knock at the door. She wondered who could be coming to her
chamber at this hour and was answered by Julia’s head popping in from around
the partially opened
of Mr. Ossory, was happening less and less frequently.)
The only
thing to mar the high spirits of the party occurred after dinner, when the
gentlemen rejoined the ladies in the drawing room. In the general conversation that followed,
Mrs. Dalton turned to her daughter and said, “Oh, I forgot to ask you how Mrs.
Covington is. Did you call on her as I
asked?” Before Selina could reply, Mrs.
Dalton turned to her hostess and explained that Mrs. Covington was the widow of
their cousin, and that she lived in town.
Selina’s
eyes flew to Malcolm, hoping against hope that he was involved in conversation
and had missed her mother’s remark. She
was disappointed to find that he was staring right at her. Her next thought was that Julia might intervene,
but Julia was speaking to her cousin and was oblivious to what was
happening. Selina had no choice but to
answer her mother.
“Yes, I
did visit Mrs. Covington. She paid a
visit to me at the Thistlewaite’s town house, as well.”
“Good, I
am glad to hear it.” Mrs. Dalton turned
again to Lady Kilbourne. “Mrs. Covington
is not really a close connection, her husband was a second cousin only, but she
is a widow. And Mr. Dalton and I have
always taught Selina to show compassion to those in less fortunate circumstances.”
Lady
Kilbourne agreed that this was a good attitude to have, and the conversation
soon turned to another subject. Selina,
however, contributed very little to the discussion. She was completely embarrassed to have been
caught lying by Mr. Malcolm, particularly when at practically the same moment
her mother was praising her principled upbringing. She kept her eyes downcast, waiting
impatiently for a time when she could excuse herself.
“Selina,”
she heard someone say, and looking up, saw Malcolm had sat down in the chair at
her left.
Selina
quickly looked down again. “Mr.
Malcolm,” she said. “Pray excuse me, I
am not feeling well—”
“Selina,”
Malcolm said again, cutting her off. “It
does not matter to me that Mrs. Covington is your cousin, and I am sorry if I
gave you that impression.”
“She is
not actually my cousin,” Selina began, but then interrupted herself to
say, “It is I who must apologize, Mr. Malcolm. I am so dreadfully embarrassed. What must you think of me?”
“I think
that you must have been concerned for my good opinion and thought, if you told
me the truth, that you would lose it. It
is my fault, for I look back on that occasion with shame. I sounded dreadfully priggish, even arrogant,
and I have heartily regretted it many times since.”
“Even so,
that was no excuse for me to lie . The only thing I can say in my defense is that I wanted to tell you the
truth, but that Julia—” Selina paused, realizing it was not the thing to
cast blame on someone else. “Well,
anyway, I did want to tell you the truth.”
“I
believe you,” Malcolm said. “Now, let’s
forget this foolish incident. It does
neither of us good to harp on it.”
Later
that evening as Selina prepared for bed, she thought how pleased she was that
her mother had introduced Mrs. Covington into the conversation, even though it
had proved embarrassing initially. Her
doubts about Malcolm’s character had been based on Julia’s statements about him
and his disdainful remarks regarding Mrs. Covington. Now, after Malcolm’s apology, she no longer
had any serious reservations about him. Julia’s aversion to Malcolm was becoming more and more recognizable as
wounded pride and could be dismissed, along with her spiteful comments. Mr. Malcolm had his faults like anyone else,
but as far as Selina was concerned, he was close to perfect.
Selina’s
daydreaming was interrupted by a knock at the door. She wondered who could be coming to her
chamber at this hour and was answered by Julia’s head popping in from around
the partially opened
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