'Alice, her name is,
didn't you say? Is she dark or fair?'
'Fair, and just about Adela's height, I should think. I hope you'll
like her, Adela.'
It was unfortunate that Richard did not pronounce the name of his
bride elect quite as it sounds on cultured lips. This may have been
partly the result of diffidence; but there was a slurring of the
second syllable disagreeably suggestive of vulgarity. It struck on
the girl's nerves, and made it more difficult for her to grow
accustomed to this form of address from Mutimer.
'I'm sure I shall try to,' she replied to the remark about Alice,
this time endeavouring to fix her obstinate eyes for a moment on
Richard's face.
'Your brother won't come, then?' Mrs. Waltham asked.
'Not just yet, I'm afraid. He's busy studying.'
'To read and write, I fear,' was the lady's silent comment. On the
score of Alice, too, Mrs. Waltham nursed a certain anxiety. The
damsels of the working class are, or so she apprehended, somewhat
more difficult of acceptance than their fathers and brothers, and
for several reasons. An artisan does not necessarily suggest, indeed
is very distinct from, the footman or even groom; but to dissociate
an uneducated maiden from the lower regions of the house is really
an exertion of the mind. And then, it is to be feared, the moral
tone of such young persons leaves for the most part much to be
desired.
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