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"Eight guns are going to shoot partridges here on the 15th of October, and Augustus will be very pleased if you will make the ninth," I wrote. Could anything be more bête? "Please wire reply, and believe me, yours sincerely " I hesitated again. Must I sign myself "Ambrosine de Calincourt Gurrage"? The strangest reluctance came over me.
"You must invent something think of some other way." "But I cannot tell a lie about it. I shall say you have received disquieting information; I will not say how. Otherwise, I will not speak to him at all about it." Mrs. Gurrage burst into tears. "There it's breakin' my heart!" she sobbed, "and you don't care a brass farthing!" "Of course I care," I said, feebly. Oh, grandmamma!
Come I will show you the beautiful chain Mr. Gurrage gave me lately, and a set of new rings, a ruby, a sapphire, a diamond, each stone as big as a peanut." Hephzibah had not lived with grandmamma for years without acquiring a certain tact. She spoke no more of things that could emotion us, and soon we parted, smiling grimly at each other. But the sense of exaltation was gone.
No one was witty like grandmamma and the Marquis, but every one was in a good temper and it was gay. The party was rather more punctual at dinner on Sunday night, and Lady Tilchester had arranged, as she meant to the night before, that I should sit next her politician. Mr. Budge and Mrs. Gurrage the names went well together!
Gurrage has been here and has asked me to marry him, grandmamma," I said. "At this hour in the morning! What does the young man mean?" "He saw me dusting the Sèvres from the road and came in." Grandmamma kissed me a thing of the greatest rareness. "My child," she said, "try and remember to accept fate without noise.
Atkinson began clearing up this débris. "Augustus!" I called, but he did not awake. "Augustus, it is time for dinner!" "If you please, ma'am," said the valet, coughing respectfully, "if I might say so, you had better let Mr. Gurrage sleep, ma'am. I'll see after him. He is very angry when he is like this and woke suddenly, ma'am." I looked at the whiskey bottles and the flushed face.
"Yes and because they tell me your keeper can show at least a hundred and fifty brace of partridges each day!" "Augustus was right, then." "What about?" "He said you would come because of the number of the birds. I I felt sure you would be engaged." "Your note was not cordial nor cousinly, and I was engaged, but the attraction of the game, as Mr. Gurrage says, decided me."
I say," said my fiancé, with the savage look in his face, "you were going to dance with me." Then Lady Tilchester interfered what a dear and kind soul she must have! She said so sweetly, as if Augustus was a prince, "Won't you accept me as a substitute, Mr. Gurrage?" Augustus was overcome with pride, and relinquished me with the best grace.
Hephzibah's face, which is a grayish yellow generally, gets a pale beet-root up to her ears, and she looks so coy. But I dare say it feels lovely to her to stand there at the back door and know some one is interested in what she does and says. Ledstone Park is owned by some people of the name of Gurrage does not it sound a fat word!
"Madam Henriette is engaged just now" and she turned to me "but she asked me to tell your ladyship if you should call again to-day that the things will be sent off to-night to join you at Myrlton Castle as you wished. Mr. Gurrage has just been in and left a message that he was sorry to miss your ladyship, but would be at the station."
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