He knew that Mrs.
Hudson considered her son's ill-regulated passion for Christina Light a very regrettable affair, but he suspected that her manifest compassion had been all for Roderick, and not in the least for Mary Garland.

She was fond of the young girl, but she had valued her primarily, during the last two years, as a kind of assistant priestess at Roderick's shrine.
Roderick had honored her by asking her to become his wife, but that poor Mary had any rights in consequence Mrs.Hudson was quite incapable of perceiving.

Her sentiment on the subject was of course not very vigorously formulated, but she was unprepared to admit that Miss Garland had any ground for complaint.

Roderick was very unhappy; that was enough, and Mary's duty was to join her patience and her prayers to those of his doting mother.

Roderick might fall in love with whom he pleased; no doubt that women trained in the mysterious Roman arts were only too proud and too happy to make it easy for him; and it was very presuming in poor, plain Mary to feel any personal resentment.