"His complexion is
not good.--Shall I tear it off?" she asked, for Rachel had stopped,
conscious of a long strip trailing behind her.
"I hope you are enjoying yourselves?" Hewet asked the ladies.
"This is a very familiar position for me!" smiled Mrs. Thornbury. "I
have brought out five daughters--and they all loved dancing! You love it
too, Miss Vinrace?" she asked, looking at Rachel with maternal eyes. "I
know I did when I was your age. How I used to beg my mother to let me
stay--and now I sympathise with the poor mothers--but I sympathise with
the daughters too!"
She smiled sympathetically, and at the same time rather keenly, at
Rachel.
"They seem to find a great deal to say to each other," said Mrs. Elliot,
looking significantly at the backs of the couple as they turned away.
"Did you notice at the picnic? He was the only person who could make her
utter."
"Her father is a very interesting man," said Mrs. Thornbury. "He has one
of the largest shipping businesses in Hull. He made a very able reply,
you remember, to Mr. Asquith at the last election. It is so interesting
to find that a man of his experience is a strong Protectionist."
She would have liked to discuss politics, which interested her more than
personalities, but Mrs. Elliot would only talk about the Empire in a
less abstract form.
"I hear there are dreadful accounts from England about the rats," she
said.
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