d to explain to her that
her husband's known wishes ought to hinder her from doing so. "My
husband should have remained with me to express his wishes," Mrs.
Trevelyan replied.

Neither could Mrs. Stanbury nor could Priscilla bring herself to say
that the man should not be admitted into the house. In the course of
the debate, in the heat of her anger, Mrs. Trevelyan declared that
were any such threat held out to her, she would leave the house and
see Colonel Osborne in the street, or at the inn.

"No, Emily; no," said Nora.

"But I will. I will not submit to be treated as a guilty woman, or as
a prisoner. They may say what they like; but I won't be shut up."

"No one has tried to shut you up," said Priscilla.

"You are afraid of that old woman at Exeter," said Mrs. Trevelyan;
for by this time the facts of the Stanbury correspondence had
all been elicited in general conversation; "and yet you know how
uncharitable and malicious she is."

"We are not afraid of her," said Priscilla. "We are afraid of nothing
but of doing wrong."

"And will it be wrong to let an old gentleman come into the house,"
said Nora, "who is nearly sixty, and who has known us ever since we
were born?"

"If he is nearly sixty, Priscilla," said Mrs. Stanbury, "that does
seem to make a difference." Mrs. Stanbury herself was only just
sixty, and she felt herself to be quite an old woman.

"They may be devils at eighty," said Priscilla.

"Colonel Osborne is not a devil at all," said Nora.

"But mamma is so foolish," said Priscilla. "The man's age does not
matter in the least."

"I beg your pardon, my dear," said Mrs. Stanbury, very humbly.

At that time the quarrel was raging, but afterwards came the
reconciliation. Had it not been for the Stanbury correspondence the
fact of Colonel Osborne's threatened visit would have been admitted
as a thing necessary--as a disagreeable necessity; but how was
the visit to be admitted and passed over in the teeth of that
correspondence? Priscilla felt very keenly the peculiar cruelty
of her position. Of course Aunt Stanbury would hear of the visit.
Indeed, any secrecy in the matter was not compatible with Priscilla's
ideas of honesty. Her aunt had apologised humbly for having said
that Colonel Osborne had been at Nuncombe. That apology, doubtless,
had been due. Colonel Osborne had not been at Nuncombe when the
accusation had been made, and the accusation had been unjust and
false. But his coming had be