Her blue eyes were shrewd, and though she stood so near the end of the way she had lost none of her interest in the comings and goings of Vanity Fair.
"Is Priorsford amusing ?" she said.

"Well" (complacently), "we have our points.

As Jane Austen wrote of the Misses Bingley, 'Our powers of conversation are considerable--we can describe an entertainment with accuracy, relate an anecdote with humour, and laugh at our acquaintances with spirit.'" "Laugh!" Jean groaned.

"Pamela, I must warn you that Mrs.Hope's laughter scares Priorsford to death.

We speak her fair in order that she won't give us away to our neighbours, but we have no real hope that she doesn't see through us.