thisbasinofwater—liliesgivesonetheidea，ifnotthesensation，ofcoolness；besides—itseemssolongsinceIsawyou，andIhaveamessagefrommyfathertogiveyou。Heisveryangrywithyou。’’Angrywithme？’saidMolly，insurprise。’Yes！Heheardthatyouhadcomehereforchangeofair；andhewasoffendedthatyouhadnotcometous—totheHall，instead。Hesaidthatyoushouldhaverememberedoldfriends！’Mollytookallthisquitegravely，anddidnotatfirstnoticethesmileonhisface。’Oh！Iamsosorry！’saidshe。’Butwillyoupleasetellhimhowitallhappened。LadyHarrietcalledtheverydaywhenitwassettledthatIwasnottogoto—’Cynthia’sweddingshewasgoingtoadd，butshesuddenlystoppedshort，and，blushingdeeply，changedtheexpression，—’gotoLondon，andsheplanneditallinaminute，andconvincedmammaandpapa，andhadherownway。Therewasreallynoresistingher。’’Ithinkyouwillhavetotellallthistomyfatheryourself，ifyoumeantomakeyourpeace。WhycanyounotcomeontotheHallwhenyouleavetheTowers？’Togointhecoolmannersuggestedfromonehousetoanother，afterthemannerofaroyalprogress，wasnotatallaccordingtoMolly’sprimitivehome—keepingnotions。Shemadeanswer，—’Ishouldlikeitverymuch，sometime。ButImustgohomefirst。Theywillwantmemorethanevernow——’Againshefeltherselftouchingonasoresubject，andstoppedshort。RogerbecameannoyedathersoconstantlyconjecturingwhathemustbefeelingonthesubjectofCynthia’smarriage。Withsympatheticperceptionshehaddiscernedthattheideamustgivehimpain；andperhapsshealsoknewthathewoulddisliketoshowthepain：butshehadnotthepresenceofmindorreadywittogiveaskilfulturntotheconversation。AllthisannoyedRoger，hecouldhardlytellwhy。Hedeterminedtotakethemetaphoricalbullbythehorns。Untilthatwasdone，hisfootingwithMollywouldalwaysbeinsecure；asitalwaysisbetweentwofriends，whomutuallyavoidasubjecttowhichtheirthoughtsperpetuallyrecur。’Ah，yes！’saidhe。’OfcourseyoumustbeofdoubleimportancenowMissKirkpatrickhasleftyou。IsawhermarriageinTheTimesyesterday。’Histoneofvoicewaschangedinspeakingofher，buthernamehadbeennamedbetweenthem，andthatwasthegreatthingtoaccomplish。’Still，’hecontinued，’IthinkImusturgemyfather’sclaimforashortvisit，andallthemore，becauseIcanreallyseetheapparentimprovementinyourhealthsinceIcame，—onlyyesterday。Besides，Molly，’itwastheoldfamiliarRogerofformerdayswhospokenow，’Ithinkyoucouldhelpusathome。Aimé；eisshyandawkwardwithmyfather，andhehasnevertakenquitekindlytoher，—yetIknowtheywouldlikeandvalueeachother，ifsomeonecouldbutbringthemtogether，—anditwouldbesuchacomforttomeifthiscouldtakeplacebeforeIhavetoleave。’’Toleave—areyougoingawayagain？’’Yes。Haveyounotheard？Ididnotcompletemyengagement。IamgoingagaininSeptemberforsixmonths。’’Iremember。ButsomehowIfancied—youseemedtohavesettleddownintotheoldwaysattheHall。’’Somyfatherappearstothink。ButitisnotlikelyIshallevermakeitmyhomeagain；andthatispartlythereasonwhyIwantmyfathertoadoptthenotionofAimé；e’slivingwithhim。Ah，hereareallthepeoplecomingbackfromtheirwalk。However，Ishallseeyouagain：perhapsthisafternoonwemaygetalittlequiettime，forIhaveagreatdealtoconsultyouabout。’Theyseparatedthen，andMollywentupstairsveryhappy，veryfullandwarmatherheart；itwassopleasanttohaveRogertalkingtoherinthisway，likeafriend；shehadoncethoughtthatshecouldneverlookuponthegreatbrown—beardedcelebrityintheformerlightofalmostbrotherlyintimacy，butnowitwasallcomingright。Therewasnoopportunityforrenewedconfidencesthatafternoon。Mollywentaquietdecorousdriveasfourthwithtwodowagersandonespinster；butitwasverypleasanttothinkthatsheshouldseehimagainatdinner，andagainto—morrow。OntheSundayevening，astheyallweresittingandloiteringonthelawnbeforedinner，Rogerwentonwithwhathehadtosayaboutthepositionofhissister—in—lawinhisfather’shouse：themutualbondbetweenthemotherandgrandfatherbeingthechild；whowasalso，throughjealousy，theboneofcontentionandtheseverance。ThereweremanylittledetailstobegiveninordertomakeMollyquiteunderstandthedifficultyofthesituationsonbothsides；andtheyoungmanandthegirlbecameabsorbedinwhattheyweretalkingabout，andwanderedawayintotheshadeofthelongavenue。LadyHarrietseparatedherselffromagroupandcameuptoLordHollingford，whowassaunteringalittleapart，andputtingherarmwithinhiswiththefamiliarityofafavouritesister，shesaid，—’Don’tyouthinkthatyourpatternyoungman，andmyfavouriteyoungwomanarefindingouteachother’sgoodqualities？’Hehadnotbeenobservingasshehadbeen。’Whodoyoumean？’saidhe。’Lookalongtheavenue；whoarethose？’’MrHamleyand—isitnotMissGibson？Ican’tquitemakeout。Oh！ifyou’relettingyourfancyrunoffinthatdirection，Icantellyouit’squitewasteoftime。RogerHamleyisamanwhowillsoonhaveanEuropeanreputation！’’That’sverypossible，andyetitdoesnotmakeanydifferenceinmyopinion。
MollyGibsoniscapableofappreciatinghim。’’Sheisaverypretty，goodlittlecountry—girl。Idon’tmeantosayanythingagainsther，but——’’RemembertheCharityBall；youcalledher\"unusuallyintelligent\"afteryouhaddancedwithherthere。ButafterallwearelikethegenieandthefairyintheArabianNights’Entertainment，whoeachcriedupthemeritsofthePrinceCaramalzamanandthePrincessBadoura。’’Hamleyisnotamarryingman。’’Howdoyouknow？’’Iknowthathehasverylittleprivatefortune，andIknowthatscienceisnotaremunerativeprofession，ifprofessionitcanbecalled。’’Oh，ifthat’sall—ahundredthingsmayhappen—someonemayleavehimafortune—orthistiresomelittleheirthatnobodywanted，maydie。’’Hush，Harriet，that’stheworstofallowingyourselftoplanfaraheadforthefuture；youaresuretocontemplatethedeathofsomeone，andtoreckonuponthecontingencyasaffectingevents。’’Asiflawyerswerenotalwaysdoingsomethingofthekind！’’Leaveittothosetowhomitisnecessary。Idislikeplanningmarriagesorlookingforwardtodeathsaboutequally。’’Youaregettingveryprosaicandtiresome，Hollingford！’’Onlygetting！’saidhesmiling。’Ithoughtyouhadalwayslookeduponmeasatiresomematter—of—factfellow。’’Now，ifyou’regoingtofishforacompliment，Iamgone。Onlyremembermyprophecywhenmyvisioncomestopass；ormakeabet，andwhoeverwinsshallspendthemoneyonapresenttoPrinceCaramalzamanorPrincessBadoura，asthecasemaybe。’LordHollingfordrememberedhissister’swordsasheheardRogersaytoMollyashewasleavingtheTowersonthefollowingday，—’ThenImaytellmyfatherthatyouwillcomeandpayhimavisitnextweek？Youdon’tknowwhatpleasureitwillgivehim。’Hehadbeenonthepointofsaying’willgiveus，’buthehadaninstinctwhichtoldhimitwasaswelltoconsiderMolly’spromisedvisitasexclusivelymadetohisfather。ThenextdayMollywenthome；shewasastonishedatherselfforbeingsosorrytoleavetheTowers；andfounditdifficult，ifnotimpossible，toreconcilethelong—fixedideaofthehouseasaplacewhereintosufferallachild’storturesofdismayandforlornnesswithhernewandfreshconception。Shehadgainedhealth，shehadhadpleasure，thefaintfragranceofanewandunacknowledgedhopehadstolenintoherlife。NowonderthatMrGibsonwasstruckwiththeimprovementinherlooks，andMrsGibsonimpressedwithherincreasedgrace。’Ah，Molly，’saidshe，’it’sreallywonderfultoseewhatalittlegoodsocietywilldoforagirl。EvenaweekofassociationwithsuchpeopleasonemeetswithattheTowersis，assomebodysaidofaladyofrankwhosenameIhaveforgotten，\"apoliteeducationinitself。\"Thereissomethingquitedifferentaboutyou—ajenesç；aisquoi—thatwouldtellmeatoncethatyouhavebeenminglingwiththearistocracy。Withallhercharms，itwaswhatmydarlingCynthiawanted；notthatMrHendersonthoughtso，foramoredevotedlovercanhardlybeconceived。Heabsolutelyboughtheraparureofdiamonds，IwasobligedtosaytohimthatIhadstudiedtopreservehersimplicityoftaste，andthathemustnotcorruptherwithtoomuchluxury。ButIwasratherdisappointedattheirgoingoffwithoutamaid。Itwastheoneblemishinthearrangements，thespotinthesun。DearCynthia，whenIthinkofher，Idoassureyou，Molly，ImakeitmynightlyprayerthatImaybeabletofindyoujustsuchanotherhusband。AndallthistimeyouhavenevertoldmewhoyoumetattheTowers？’Mollyranoveralistofnames。RogerHamley’scamelast。’Uponmyword！Thatyoungmanispushinghiswayup！’’TheHamleysareafarolderfamilythantheCumnors，’saidMolly，flushingup。’Now，Molly，Ican’thaveyoudemocratic。Rankisagreatdistinction。
Itisquiteenoughtohavedearpapawithdemocratictendencies。Butwewon’tbegintoquarrel。NowthatyouandIareleftaloneweoughttobebosomfriends，andIhopeweshallbe。RogerHamleydidnotsaymuchaboutthatunfortunatelittleOsborneHamley，Isuppose。’’Onthecontrary。Hesayshisfatherdotesonthechild；andheseemedveryproudofhim，himself。’’Ithoughtthesquiremustbegettingverymuchinfatuatedwithsomething。
IdaresaytheFrenchmothertakescareofthat。Why！hehasscarcelytakenanynoticeofyouforthismonthormore，andbeforethatyouwereeverything。’ItwasaboutsixweekssinceCynthia’sengagementhadbecomepubliclyknown，andthatmighthavehadsomethingtodowiththesquire’sdesertion，Mollythought。Butshesaid，—’Thesquirehassentmeaninvitationtogoandstaytherenextweekifyouhavenoobjection，mamma。TheyseemtowantacompanionforMrsOsborneHamley，whoisnotverystrong。’’Icanhardlytellwhattosay，—Idon’tlikeyourhavingtoassociatewithaFrenchwomanofdoubtfulrank；andIcan’tbearthethoughtoflosingmychild—myonlydaughternow。IdidaskHelenKirkpatrick，butshecan’tcomeforsometime；andthehouseisgoingtobealtered。Papahasconsentedtobuildmeanotherroomatlast，forCynthiaandMrHendersonwill，ofcourse，comeandseeus；weshallhavemanymorevisitors，Iexpect，andyourbedroomwillmakeacapitallumber—room；andMariawantsaweek’sholiday。Iamalwayssounwillingtoputanyobstaclesinthewayofanyone’spleasure，—weaklyunwilling，Ibelieve，—butitcertainlywouldbeveryconvenienttohaveyououtofthehouseforafewdays；so，foronce，Iwillwaivemyownwishforyourcompanionship，andpleadyourcausewithpapa。’TheMissBrowningscametocallandhearthedoublebatchofnews。MrsGoodenoughhadcometheverydayonwhichtheyhadreturnedfromMissHornblower’s，totellthemtheastoundingfactofMollyGibsonhavinggoneonavisittotheTowers；nottocomebackatnight，buttosleepthere，tobetherefortwoorthreedays，justasifshewasayoungladyofquality。SotheMissBrowningscametohearallthedetailsoftheweddingfromMrsGibson，andthehistoryofMolly’svisitattheTowersaswell。ButMrsGibsondidnotlikethisdividedinterest，andsomeofheroldjealousyofMolly’sintimacyattheTowershadreturned。’Now，Molly，’saidMissBrowning，’letushearhowyoubehavedamongthegreatfolks。Youmustnotbesetupwithalltheirattention；rememberthattheypayittoyouforyourgoodfather’ssake。’’Mollyis，Ithink，quiteaware，’putinMrsGibson，inhermostsoftandlanguidtone，’thatsheowesherprivilegeofvisitingatsuchahousetoLadyCumnor’skinddesiretosetmymindquiteatlibertyatthetimeofCynthia’smarriage。AssoonaseverIhadreturnedhome，Mollycameback；indeedIshouldnothavethoughtitrighttoletherintrudeupontheirkindnessbeyondwhatwasabsolutelynecessary。’Mollyfeltextremelyuncomfortableatallthis，althoughperfectlyawareoftheentireinaccuracyofthestatement。’Well，but，Molly！’saidMissBrowning，’nevermindwhetheryouwentthereonyourownmerits，oryourworthyfather’smerits，orMrsGibson’smerits；
buttelluswhatyoudidwhenyouwerethere。’SoMollybegananaccountoftheirsayingsanddoings，whichshecouldhavemadefarmoreinterestingtoMissBrowningandMissPhoebeifshehadnotbeenconsciousofherstepmother’scriticallistening。Shehadtotellitallwithamentalsquint；thesurestwaytospoilanarration。