United States or Faroe Islands ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
She remembered drawing off the guard ring when she took off Sir Josseline's, and put that into Jacob's hands; her ladyship said it was clear to her mind that she could not have put on Sir Josseline's again, because here was the guard ring on her wrong finger a finger on which she never in her life wore it when she wore Sir Josseline's, for Sir Josseline's was so loose, it would drop off, unless she had the guard on.
Jacob told her it could be easily lessened, if her ladyship would leave it for an hour or two with him. But her ladyship said she could not let Sir Josseline's ring out of her own sight, it was of such inestimable value.
"But was not it possible," I asked, "that your ladyship might this once have put on Sir Josseline's ring without recollecting the guard?" Lady Anne's private reasons to her were equally unanswerable; but they were so confused, and delivered with so much volubility, as to be absolutely unintelligible.
"Lady de Brantefield requests that Mr. Manessa will bring the ring himself to Lady Warbeck's, Hanover-square, where Lady de Brantefield is at present. "Lady de Brantefield desires Mr. M. will make no delay, as her ladyship must remain in indescribable anxiety till Sir Josseline's ring shall be restored. Her ladyship could not answer for such a loss to her family and posterity.
But when two fools pour out their reasons at once, it is difficult to profit even by their folly. The mother's authority at last obtaining precedency, I heard Lady de Brantefield's cause of belief, first: her ladyship declared that she never wore Sir Josseline's ring without putting on after it a guard ring, a ring which, being tighter than Sir Josseline's, kept it safe on her finger.
I was carried back so far, so forcibly, and so suddenly, that it was some time before I could recover myself sufficiently to recollect what was the order of the day; but no matter my mother passed on quite easily to the jewels, and my silence was convenient, and had an air of perfect deference for Lady de Brantefield's long story of Sir Josseline's ring, now told over, I believe, for the ninety-ninth time this season.
All I could gather was, that Fowler and her daughter Nancy were in the room when Lady Anne and her mother first missed the ring that when her mother drew off her glove, and exclaimed, "Bless me, Sir Josseline's not here!"
Word Of The Day