Neither could Mrs Stanbury nor could Priscilla bring herself to say that the man should not be admitted into the house.  In the course of the debate, in the heat of her anger, Mrs Trevelyan declared that were any such threat held out to her, she would leave the house and see Colonel Osborne in the Street, or at the inn.

‘No, Emily; no,’ said Nora.

’But I will.  I will not submit to be treated as a guilty woman, or as a prisoner.  They may say what they like, but I won’t be shut up.’

‘No one has tried to shut you up,’ said Priscilla.

‘You are afraid of that old woman at Exeter,’ said Mrs Trevelyan; for by this time the facts of the Stanbury correspondence had all been elicited in general conversation; ’and yet you know how uncharitable and malicious she is.’

‘We are not afraid of her,’ said Priscilla.  ’We are afraid of nothing but of doing wrong.’

‘And will it be wrong to let an old gentleman come into the house,’ said Nora, ’who is nearly sixty, and who has known us ever since we were born?’

‘If he is nearly sixty, Priscilla,’ said Mrs Stanbury, ’that does seem to make a difference.’  Mrs Stanbury herself was only just sixty, and she felt herself to be quite an old woman.

‘They may be devils at eighty,’ said Priscilla.

‘Colonel Osborne is not a devil at all,’ said Nora.

‘But mamma is so foolish,’ said Priscilla.  ’The man’s age does not matter in the least.’

‘I beg your pardon, my dear,’ said Mrs Stanbury, very humbly.

At that time the quarrel was raging, but afterwards came the reconciliation.  Had it not been for the Stanbury correspondence the fact of Colonel Osborne’s threatened visit would have been admitted as a thing necessary, as a disagreeable necessity; but how was the visit to be admitted and passed over in the teeth of that correspondence?  Priscilla felt very keenly the peculiar cruelty of her position.  Of course, Aunt Stanbury would hear of the visit.  Indeed, any secrecy in the matter was not compatible with Priscilla’s ideas of honesty.  Her aunt had apologised humbly for having said that Colonel Osborne had been at Nuncombe.  That apology, doubtless, had been due.  Colonel Osborne had not been at Nuncombe when the accusation had been made, and the accusation had been unjust and false.  But his coming had been spoken of by Priscilla in her own letters as an occurrence which was quite out of the question.  Her anger against her aunt had been for saying that the man had come, not for objecting to such a visit.  And now the man was coming, and Aunt Stanbury would know all about it.  How great, how terrible, how crushing would be Aunt Stanbury’s triumph!

‘I must write and tell her,’ said Priscilla.

‘I am sure I shall not object,’ said Mrs Trevelyan.  ’And Hugh must be told,’ said Mrs Stanbury.

‘You may tell all the world, if you like,’ said Mrs Trevelyan.