CHAPTER XII.
SHOWING HOW THINGS WENT ON AT NONINGSBY.
Yes, Lady Staveley had known it before. She had given a fairly correct guess at the state of her daughter's affections, though she had not perhaps acknowledged to herself the intensity of her daughter's feelings. But the fact might not have mattered if it had never been told. Madeline might have overcome this love for Mr. Graham, and all might have been well if she had never mentioned it. But now the mischief was done. She had acknowledged to her mother,—and, which was perhaps worse, she had acknowledged to herself,—that her heart was gone, and Lady Staveley saw no cure for the evil. Had this happened but a few hours earlier she would have spoken with much less of encouragement to Peregrine Orme.
And Felix Graham was not only in the house, but was to remain there for yet a while longer, spending a very considerable portion of his time in the drawing-room. He was to come down on this very day at three o'clock, after an early dinner, and on the next day he was to be promoted to the dining-room. As a son-in-law he was quite ineligible. He had, as Lady Staveley understood, no private fortune, and he belonged to a profession which he would not follow in the only way by which it was possible to earn an income by it. Such being the case, her daughter, whom of all girls she knew to be the most retiring, the least likely to speak of such feelings unless driven to it by great stress,—her daughter had positively declared to her that she was in love with this man! Could anything be more hopeless? Could any position be more trying?
'Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!' she said, almost wringing her hands in her vexation,—'No, my darling I am not angry,' and she kissed her child and smoothed her hair. 'I am not angry; but I must say I think it very unfortunate. He has not a shilling in the world.'
'I will do nothing that you and papa do not approve,' said Madeline, holding down her head.
'And then you know he doesn't think of such a thing himself—of course he does not. Indeed, I don't think he's a marrying man at all.'
