F. C. Fordyce with a certain tone, as if
they were afraid of her, as Sir Horace Lester's sister,--very
superior, very active, very strict in her notions,--as if these were
so many defects. They were an offshoot of the old Fordyces of
Chantry House, but so far back that all recollection of kindred or
connection must have worn out. Their property--all in beautiful
order--marched with ours, and Chapman was very particular about the
boundaries. 'Old master he wouldn't have a bird picked up if it
fell over on they Fordys' ground--not he! He couldn't abide
passons, couldn't the old Squire--not Miss Hannah More, and all they
Cheddar lot, and they Fordys least of all. My son's wife, she was
for sending her little maid to Hillside to Madam Fordys' school,
but, bless your heart, 'twould have been as much as my place was
worth if master had known it.'
The visit was not returned till after Clarence had gone back to his
London work. Sore as was the loss of him from my daily life, I
could see that the new world and fresh acquaintances were a trial to
him, and especially since the encounter with young Lester had driven
him back into his shell, so that he would be better where he was
already known and had nothing new to overcome. Emily, though not
yet sixteen, was emancipated from schoolroom habits, and the dear
girl was my devoted slave to an extent that perhaps I abused.
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