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"Did you pick them up, Jock?" squealed Mhor, who regarded Jock as the greatest living humorist, and now at the thought of the scattered kippers wallowed on the floor with laughter. Jock continued: "And another shell blew the turrety thing off The Towers and blew Mrs. Duff-Whalley right over the West Law and landed her in Caddon Burn " "Hurray!" yelled Mhor.
Hope say that it doesn't matter how vulgar we are, so long as we know we are being vulgar. But that isn't true. It's not much fun to know you are being vulgar and not be able to help it." Mrs. Duff-Whalley gave a convulsed ejaculation, but her daughter went on.
Duff-Whalley had, with an effort, regained her temper, and was now all smiles. "We must see you often at The Towers while you are in Priorsford, dear Miss Reston. Muriel and I are on our way to tea with Lady Tweedie. She will be so excited to hear you are back. You have made quite a place for yourself in our little circle. Good-bye, Jean, we shall be seeing you some time. Come, Muriel. Well t'ta."
A warm fire and a cushion and some mutton-chop bones are good enough for you. Well, we've got all these and we want more.... Mother, perhaps Jean would tell us the secret of happiness." "As if I'd ask her," said Mrs. Duff-Whalley. "Marvell, who had both pleasure and success, who must have enjoyed life if ever man did, ... found his happiness in the garden where he was."
"I simply stared through her. I find that irritates that class of person frightfully ... How do you like my sables, Jean? Yes a present." "They are beautiful," said Jean serenely, but to herself she muttered bitterly, "Opulent lumps!" "David goes back to Oxford next week," she said aloud, the thought of money recalling David's lack of it. "Oh, really! How exciting for him," Mrs. Duff-Whalley said.
"The Jardines are very unconventional," said Mrs. Duff-Whalley, "if you call that attractive. Jean doesn't know how to keep her place with people at all. I saw her walking beside a tinker woman the other day, helping her with her bundle; and I'm sure I've simply had to give up calling at The Rigs, for you never knew who you would have to shake hands with. I'm sorry for Jean, poor little soul.
Duff-Whalley had ruffled it in a world that asked no questions about the origin of money so obviously there. Most people are weak when they come in contact with a really strong-willed woman. No one liked Mrs. Duff-Whalley, but few, if any, withstood her advances.
I've often thought how I would relish a tea-party at the Watsons'! Your father used to have a saying about it being better to be at the head of the commonalty than at the tail of the gentry, and I know it's true. Mrs. Duff-Whalley of The Towers would be a big body at the Miss Watsons' tea-parties, and I know fine I'm only tolerated at the Tweedies' and the Olivers' and all the others."
"I suppose you won't have heard from Miss Reston since she went away?" "I had a letter from her a few days ago." Mrs. Duff-Whalley waited expectantly for a moment, but as Jean said nothing more she continued: "Did she talk of future plans? We simply must fix them both up for a week at The Towers. Lord Bidborough told us he had quite fallen in love with Priorsford and would be sure to come back.
I hadn't realised how gruesome provincial smartness could be until I met Muriel Duff-Whalley." "Oh, poor Muriel!" Jean protested. "You've done for her anyway. But you're wrong in thinking her stupid.
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