"I don't believe a word of it," and she tossed her head with a smile on her lips at Mrs.Milvain, as though she could quite understand her mistake, which was a very natural mistake, in the case of a childless woman, whose husband was something very dull in the Board of Trade.
"I didn't WISH to believe it, Maggie," said Mrs.Milvain.

"For a long time I COULDN'T believe it.

But now I've seen, and I HAVE to believe it." "Katharine," Mrs.Hilbery demanded, "does your father know of this ?" Katharine nodded.
"Cyril married!" Mrs.Hilbery repeated.

"And never telling us a word, though we've had him in our house since he was a child--noble William's son! I can't believe my ears!" Feeling that the burden of proof was laid upon her, Mrs.Milvain now proceeded with her story.

She was elderly and fragile, but her childlessness seemed always to impose these painful duties on her, and to revere the family, and to keep it in repair, had now become the chief object of her life.