Of course she understood perfectly how it all happened, and she felt very sorry for me.' I disclaimed the notion of any family disagreement with some warmth, but I do not think she believed me.

She had evidently got it into her head that I was a strong-minded young woman with an uncertain temper, who could not live peaceably at home.

No doubt she had hinted this to Mrs.
Maberley and other ladies.

She would make this the excuse for discouraging any degree of intimacy with her cousins.

I should not be asked very often to Gladwyn if it depended on Miss Darrell; but Mr.
Hamilton had a will of his own, and if he chose me as a companion for his sisters, Miss Darrell would find it difficult to exclude me.
One could see at a glance that Mr.Hamilton was master in his own house.
Miss Darrell seemed perfectly submissive to him.