himself,
and others in concatenation accordingly.
"But will your uncle be angry if we have the breakfast up here? He
has been so very handsome to Frank, that I wouldn't make him angry
for all the world."
"If you don't tell him anything about it, Lady Arabella, he'll think
that it is all done properly. He will never know, if he's not told,
that he ought to give the breakfast, and not you."
"Won't he, my dear?" And Lady Arabella looked her admiration for this
very talented suggestion. And so that matter was arranged. The doctor
never knew, till Mary told him some year or so afterwards, that he
had been remiss in any part of his duty.
And who was asked to the wedding? In the first place, we have said
that the Duke of Omnium was there. This was, in fact, the one
circumstance that made this wedding so superior to any other that
had ever taken place in that neighbourhood. The Duke of Omnium never
went anywhere; and yet he went to Mary's wedding! And Mary, when
the ceremony was over, absolutely found herself kissed by a duke.
"Dearest Mary!" exclaimed Lady Arabella, in her ecstasy of joy, when
she saw the honour that was done to her daughter-in-law.
"I hope we shall induce you to come to Gatherum Castle soon," said
the duke to Frank. "I shall be having a few friends there in the
autumn. Let me see; I declare, I have not seen you since you were
good enough to come to my collection. Ha! ha! ha! It wasn't bad fun,
was it?" Frank was not very cordial with his answer. He had not quite
reconciled himself to the difference of his position. When he was
treated as one of the "collection" at Gatherum Castle, he had not
married money.
It would be vain to enumerate all the de Courcys that were there.
There was the earl, looking very gracious, and talking to the
squire about the county. And there was Lord Porlock, looking very
ungracious, and not talking to anybody about anything. And there was
the countess, who for the last week past had done nothing but pat
Frank on the back whenever she could catch him. And there were the
Ladies Alexandrina, Margaretta, and Selina, smiling at everybody.
And the Honourable George, talking in whispers to Frank about his
widow--"Not such a catch as yours, you know; but something extremely
snug;--and have it all my own way, too, old fellow, or I shan't come
to the scratch." And the Honourable John prepared to toady Frank
about his string of hunters; and the Lady Amelia, by herself, not
quite
|