Cynthiawasalwayswillingtoanswerquestionsaboutherpreviouslife，though，afterthefirst，sherarelyalludedtoitofherself；butshewasamostsympatheticlistenertoallMolly’sinnocentconfidencesofjoysandsorrows；sympathizingeventotheextentofwonderinghowshecouldendureMrGibson’ssecondmarriage，andwhyshedidnottakesomeactivestepsofrebellion。Inspiteofallthisagreeableandpungentvarietyofcompanionshipathome，MollyyearnedaftertheHamleys。Iftherehadbeenawomaninthatfamilyshewouldprobablyhavereceivedmanylittlenotes，andheardofnumerousdetailswhichwerenowlosttoher，orsummedupincondensedaccountsofherfather’svisitsattheHall，which，sincehisdearpatientwasdead，wereonlyoccasional。’Yes！Thesquireisagooddealchanged；buthe’sbetterthanhewas。There’sanunspokenestrangementbetweenhimandOsborne；onecanseeitinthesilenceandconstraintoftheirmanners；butoutwardlytheyarefriendly—civilatanyrate。ThesquirewillalwaysrespectOsborneashisheir，andthefuturerepresentativeofthefamily。Osbornedoesn’tlookwell；
hesayshewantschange。Ithinkhe’swearyofthedomestictê；te—à；—tê；te，ordomesticdissension。Buthefeelshismother’sdeathacutely。It’sawonderthatheandhisfatherarenotdrawntogetherbytheircommonloss。
Roger’sawayatCambridgetoo—examinationforthemathematicaltripos。
Altogethertheaspectofbothpeopleandplaceischanged；itisbutnatural！’Suchisperhapsthesumming—upofthenewsoftheHamleys，ascontainedinmanybulletins。TheyalwaysendedinsomekindmessagetoMolly。MrsGibsongenerallysaid，asacommentuponherhusband’saccountofOsborne’smelancholy，—’Mydear！whydon’tyouaskhimtodinnerhere？Alittlequietdinner，youknow。Cookisquiteuptoit；andwewouldallofuswearblacksandlilacs；’hecouldn’tconsiderthatasgaiety。’MrGibsontooknomorenoticeofthesesuggestionsthanbyshakinghishead。Hehadgrownaccustomedtohiswifebythistime，andregardedsilenceonhisownpartasagreatpreservativeagainstlonginconsequentialarguments。
ButeverytimethatMrsGibsonwasstruckbyCynthia’sbeauty，shethoughtitmoreandmoreadvisablethatMrOsborneHamleyshouldbecheeredupbyaquietlittledinner—party。AsyetnoonebuttheladiesofHollingfordandMrAshton，thevicar—thathopelessandimpracticableoldbachelor—hadseenCynthia；andwhatwasthegoodofhavingalovelydaughter，iftherewerenonebutoldwomentoadmireher？Cynthiaherselfappearedextremelyindifferentuponthesubject，andtookverylittlenoticeofhermother’sconstanttalkaboutthegaietiesthatwerepossible，andthegaietiesthatwereimpossible，inHollingford。SheexertedherselfjustasmuchtocharmthetwoMissBrowningsasshewouldhavedonetodelightOsborneHamley，oranyotheryoungheir。Thatistosay，sheusednoexertion，butsimplyfollowedherownnature，whichwastoattracteveryoneofthoseshewasthrownamongst。Theexertionseemedrathertobetorefrainfromdoingso，andtoprotest，asshesooftendid，byslightwordsandexpressivelooksagainsthermother’swordsandhumours—alikeagainstherfollyandhercaresses。MollywasalmostsorryforMrsGibson，whoseemedsounabletogaininfluenceoverherchild。