'
Lady Peacock had soon extracted the ghost story from her husband,
and, though she professed to be above the vulgar folly of belief in
it, her nerves were so upset, she said, that nothing would have
induced her to sleep another night in the house. The rational
theory on this occasion was that one of the maids must have stolen
out to join in the Christmas entertainment at the Winslow Arms, and
been pursued home by some tipsy revellers; but this explanation was
not productive of goodwill between the mother and daughter-in-law,
since mamma had from the first so entirely suspected Selina's smart
nurse as actually to have gone straight to the nursery on the plea
of seeing whether the baby had been frightened. The woman was found
asleep--apparently so--said my mother, but all her clothes were in
an untidy heap on the floor, which to my mother was proof conclusive
that she had slipped into the house in the confusion, and settled
herself there. Had not my mother with her own eyes watched from the
window her flirtations with the gardener, and was more evidence
requisite to convict her? Mamma entertained the hope that her
proposal would be adopted of herself taking charge of her grandson,
and fattening his poor little cheeks on our cows' milk, while the
rest of the party continued their round of visits.
Lady Peacock, however, treated it as a personal imputation that HER
nurse should be accused instead of any servant of Mrs.
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