In the meantime, he began to perceive that Lilian was not likely to
form many acquaintances in the town. With the Liversedges she stood
on excellent terms, and one or two families closely connected with
them gave her a welcome from which she did not shrink. But she had
no gift of social versatility; it cost her painful efforts to
converse about bazaars and curates and fashions and babies with the
average Polterham matron; she felt that most of the women who came
to see her went away with distasteful impressions, and that they
were anything but cordial when she returned their call. A life of
solitude and study was the worst possible preparation for duties
such as were now laid upon her.
"You are dissatisfied with me," she said to Denzil, as they returned
from spending the evening with some empty but influential people who
had made her exceedingly uncomfortable.
"Dissatisfied? On the contrary, I am very proud of you. It does one
good to contrast one's wife with women such as those."
"I tried to talk; but I'm so ignorant of everything they care about.
I shall do better when I know more of the people they refer to."
"Chattering apes! Malicious idiots! Heaven forbid that you should
ever take a sincere part in their gabble! That lot are about the
worst we shall have to deal with. Decent simpletons you can get
along with very well.
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