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It was plain that Lady Davenant had not thought proper to accept of this present, and to avoid any unpleasant explanations, had presumed it was not intended for her, but had been sent by mistake. Helen advised her to let the matter rest. "Well, well!" said Lady Bearcroft, "thank you, Miss Hanley, at all events for your good advice.
She searched, but could not find; where it ought to have been, there it of course was not. While she was still on the book-ladder, the door opened, and enter Lady Bearcroft. "Miss Hanley!" cried she, "I have a word to say to you, for, though you are a stranger to me, I see you are a dear good creature, and I think I may take the liberty of asking your advice in a little matter."
And to this humble consolation was Lady Cecilia brought. She told Helen that she gave up all hope of doing any good, she would now be quite content if she avoided doing harm, and if this visit ended without coming to any further outrage on the part of Lady Bearcroft, and without her mother's being guilty of contempt to Lady Masham.
Helen's eyes opened to their utmost power of distension, at the idea of anybody's questioning that Lady Davenant knew what she was about. "La! my dear," said Lady Bearcroft; "spare the whites of your eyes, I didn't mean she didn't know what she was about in that sense." "What sense?" said Helen. "Not in any particular sense," replied Lady Bearcroft.
Lady Bearcroft went on "Since I cannot make your excellency understand by description what I mean by an English rat-political, I must give you an example or two, dead and living living best, and I have more than one noted and branded rat in my eye."
"The world is grown mighty nice!" said Lady Bearcroft; "for my part, give me a good laugh when it is to be had."
Sir Benjamin and Lady Bearcroft departed at six o'clock the next morning, and all the rest of the political and diplomatic corps left immediately after breakfast. Lady Davenant looked relieved, the general satisfied, and Lady Cecilia consoled herself with the hope that, if she had done no good, she had not done any harm.
If we came to any difficulty with her, we could not get out of it quite so well as with Lady Bearcroft, for there is no resource of heart or frankness of feeling with her. Before we all meet at dinner, I must sound mamma, and see if all is tolerably safe." And when she went this day at dressing-time with a bouquet, as was her custom, for her mother, she took Helen with her.
"But still it might have happened," continued Lady Bearcroft, "that her ladyship did not notice the delicacy of the way in which the thing was put for it really was put so that nobody could take hold of it against any of us you understand; and after all, such a curiosity of a Sevigne as this, and such fine 'di'monds, was too pretty, and too good a thing to be refused hand-over-head, in that way.
The result was, that she commissioned Helen to release Lady Bearcroft as soon as convenient, and to inform her that an act of oblivion was passed over the whole transaction. There had been a shower, and it had cleared up. Lady Cecilia thought the sky looked bluer, and birds sang sweeter, and the air felt pleasanter than before the storm.
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