And Miss Piper drew herself up and craned her neck, as if resolved to 'behave herself properly,' as she had been taught to do at boarding-school thirty years before, in the presence of 'her grace.' By-and-by she said to Miss Phoebe, with a sudden jerk out of position, - 'Look, look! that's our Mr Cholmley, the magistrate' (he was the great man of Coreham), 'and that's Mrs Cholmley in red satin, and Mr George and Mr Harry from Oxford, I do declare; and Miss Cholmley, and pretty Miss Sophy.I should like to go and speak to them, but then it's so formidable crossing.a room without a gentleman.And there is Coxe the butcher and his wife! Why, all Coreham seems to be here! And how Mrs Coxe can afford such a gown I can't make out for one, for I know Coxe had some difficulty in paying for the last sheep he bought of my brother.' Just at this moment the band, consisting of two violins, a harp, and an occasional clarionet, having finished their tuning, and brought themselves as nearly into accord as was possible, struck up a brisk country-dance, and partners quickly took their places.Mrs Gibson was secretly a little annoyed at Cynthia's being one of those to stand up in this early dance, the performers in which were principally the punctual plebeians of Hollingford, who, when a ball was fixed to begin at eight, had no notion of being later, and so losing part of the amusement for which they had paid their money.
She imparted some of her feelings to Molly, sitting by her, longing to dance, and beating time to the spirited music with one of her pretty little feet.'Your dear papa is always so very punctual! To-night it seems almost a pity, for we really are here before there is any one come that we know.' 'Oh! I see so many people here that I know.There are Mr and Mrs Smeaton, and that nice good-tempered daughter.' 'Oh! booksellers and butchers if you will.' 'Papa has found a great many friends to talk to.' 'Patients, my dear - hardly friends.There are some nice-looking people here,' catching her eye on the Cholmleys; 'but I daresay they have driven over from the neighbourhood of Ashcombe or Coreham, and have hardly calculated how soon they would get here.I wonder when the Towers' party will come.
Ah! there's Mr Ashton, and Mr Preston.Come, the room is beginning to fill.' So it was, for this was to be a very good ball, people said; and a large party from the Towers was coming, and a duchess in diamonds among the number.
Every great house in the district was expected to be full of guests on these occasions; but, at this early hour, the townspeople had the floor almost entirely to themselves; the county magnates came dropping in later;and chiefest among them all was the lord-lieutenant from the Towers.But to-night they were unusually late, and the aristocratic ozone being absent from the atmosphere, there was a flatness about the dancing of all those who considered themselves above the plebeian ranks of the tradespeople.
They, however, enjoyed themselves thoroughly, and sprang and pounded till their eyes sparkled and their cheeks glowed with exercise and excitement.
Some of the more prudent parents, mindful of the next day's duties, began to consider at what hour they ought to go home; but with all there was an expressed or unexpressed curiosity to see the duchess and her diamonds;for the Menteith diamonds were famous in higher circles than that now assembled;and their fame had trickled down to it through the medium of ladies'-maids and housekeepers.Mr Gibson had had to leave the ball-room for a time, as he had anticipated, but he was to return to his wife as soon as his duties were accomplished; and, in his absence, Mrs Gibson kept herself a little aloof from the Miss Brownings and those of her acquaintance who would willingly have entered into conversation with her, with the view of attaching herself to the skirts of the Towers' party, when they should make their appearance.If Cynthia would not be so very ready in engaging herself to every possible partner who asked her to dance, there were sure to be young men staying at the Towers who would be on the look-out for pretty girls: and who could tell to what a dance would lead? Molly, too, though a less good dancer than Cynthia, and, from her timidity, less graceful and easy, was becoming engaged pretty deeply; and, it must be confessed, she was longing to dance every dance, no matter with whom.Even she might not be available for the more aristocratic partners Mrs Gibson anticipated.
She was feeling very much annoyed with the whole proceedings of the evening when she was aware of some one standing by her; and, turning a little to one side, she saw Mr Preston keeping guard, as it were, over the seats which Molly and Cynthia had just quitted.He was looking so black that, if their eyes had not met, Mrs Gibson would have preferred not speaking to him; as it was, she thought it unavoidable.'The rooms are not well-lighted to-night, are they, Mr Preston?' 'No,' said he; 'but who could light such dingy old paint as this, loaded with evergreens, too, which always darken a room.' 'And the company, too! I always think that freshness and brilliancy of dress go as far as anything to brighten up a room.Look what a set of people are here: the greater part of the women are dressed in dark silks, really only fit for a morning.The place will be quite different, by-and-by, when the county families are in a little more force.' Mr Preston made no reply.He had put his glass in his eye, apparently for the purpose of watching the dancers.If its exact direction could have been ascertained, it would have been found that he was looking intently and angrily at a flying figure in pink muslin: many a one was gazing at Cynthia with intentness besides himself, but no one in anger.Mrs Gibson was not so fine an observer as to read all this; but here was a gentlemanly and handsome young man, to whom she could prattle, instead of either joining herself on to objectionable people, or sitting all forlorn until the Towers'