Spiteful, however, and numerous were the things she said of Miss Vernon, when Miss Vernon was absent; and haughty beyond measure were the inclination of her head and the tone of her voice when Miss Vernon was present.

If, therefore, Constance was disliked by the duchess, we may readily believe that she returned the dislike.

The very name roused her spleen and her pride; and it was with a feeling all a woman's, though scarcely feminine in the amiable sense of the word, that she learned to whom the honour of Lord Erpingham's precedence had been (though necessarily) given.
As Lord Erpingham led her to her place, a buzz of admiration and enthusiasm followed her steps.

This pleased Erpingham more than, at that moment, it did Constance.

Already intoxicated by her beauty, he was proud of the effect it produced on others, for that effect was a compliment to his taste.