But there remained in her thoughts a settled deposit of resentment against her niece, all the denser because it was not to be cleared by explanation or discussion.

It was horrible of a young girl to let herself be talked about; however unfounded the charges against her, she must be to blame for their having been made.
Mrs.Peniston felt as if there had been a contagious illness in the house, and she was doomed to sit shivering among her contaminated furniture..