\"Ihavenodesiretooffendyou，ortoactharshlytowardyou，\"herladyshipbegan，veryquietly。\"Ionlysuggestthatyourvisitstomyhousecannotpossiblyleadtoanysatisfactoryresult。Ihopeyouwillnotobligemetosayanyharderwordsthanthese——IhopeyouwillunderstandthatIwishyoutowithdraw。\"
Theorderofdismissalcouldhardlyhavebeenissuedwithmorehumaneconsiderationforthesupposedmentalinfirmityofthepersontowhomitwasaddressed。Graceinstantlyresisteditintheplainestpossibleterms。
\"Injusticetomyfather\'smemoryandinjusticetomyself，\"sheanswered，\"Iinsistonahearing。Irefusetowithdraw。\"Shedeliberatelytookachairandseatedherselfinthepresenceofthemistressofthehouse。
LadyJanetwaitedamoment——steadilycontrollinghertemper。IntheintervalofsilenceJulianseizedtheopportunityofremonstratingwithGrace。
\"Isthiswhatyoupromisedme？\"heasked，gently。\"YougavemeyourwordthatyouwouldnotreturntoMablethorpeHouse。\"