CHAPTER XLIII.
When poor Georgiana arrived at Rotheles Castle, she was received with much kindness by the earl, her uncle, and with an appearance of it on the part of the countess, such as she had never experienced before. The fact was, that this lady, was so angry with her niece, Lady Allerton, she determined to punish her by adopting, as her heart's chosen, any one of her husband's nieces that might happen to suit her. She had not yet seen one that would; but, as she firmly believed Lady Anne to be exceedingly like herself "in the strong lines of character," by which the selfish, manœuvring, doubling, and cunning traits were meant, she concluded that, out of five daughters, one or more would be found to resemble the mother, whom yet she would not love, for, as Lady Anne's deficiency in what she termed "maternal weakness" would be most remarkable to a sharp, clever, and observing girl, so would she be the first to rebel against her mother in secret, and try to subvert the authority with which she could not contend.
Lady Rotheles was by no means right in her conclusions, because she could not analyze the mind of
