About eleven o'clock the two young ladies walked out across the park
towards the lodge, to pay a visit to Mrs. Stokes. Then they walked on to
the village, and home again by the mill. The morning seemed long drawn
out. Then followed luncheon, and after it Mr. Cecil Burleigh drove in an
open carriage with Bessie and his sister to Hartwell. The afternoon was
very clear and pleasant, and the scenery sufficiently varied. On the
road Bessie learnt that Hartwell was the early home of Lady Latimer, and
still the residence of her bachelor brother and two maiden sisters.
The very name of Lady Latimer acted like a spell on Bessie. She had been
rather silent and reserved until she heard it, and then all at once she
roused up into a vivid interest. Mr. Cecil Burleigh studied her more
attentively than he had done hitherto. Miss Burleigh said, "Lady Latimer
is another of our ambitious women. Miss Fairfax fancies women can have
no ambition on their own account, Cecil. I have been telling her of Mrs.
Chiverton."
"And what does Miss Fairfax say of Mrs. Chiverton's ambition?" asked Mr.
Cecil Burleigh.
"Nothing," rejoined Bessie. But her delicate lip and nostril expressed a
great deal.
The man of the world preferred her reticence to the wisest speech. He
mused for several minutes before he spoke again himself. Then he gave
air to some of his reflections: "Lady Latimer has great qualities. Her
marriage was the blunder of her youth.
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