‘Camilla, dear don’t,’ said Arabella.

’But when a gentleman is hunted, and can’t be caught, I don’t think he ought to be abused to his face.’

‘But who hunted him, and who abused him?’ asked Brooke.

’Mind, I don’t mean to say a word against Miss Stanbury, Mr Burgess.  We’ve known her and loved her all our lives haven’t we, mamma?’

‘And respected her,’ said Arabella.

‘Quite so,’ continued Camilla.  ’But you know, Mr Burgess, that she likes her own way.’

‘I don’t know anybody that does not,’ said Brooke.

’And when she’s disappointed, she shows it.  There’s no doubt she is disappointed now, Mr Burgess.’

‘What’s the good of going on, Camilla?’ said Mrs French.  Arabella sat silent in her corner, with a conscious glow of satisfaction, as she reflected that the joint disappointment of the elder and the younger Miss Stanbury had been caused by a tender remembrance of her own charms.  Had not dear Mr Gibson told her, in the glowing language of truth, that there was nothing further from his thoughts than the idea of taking Dorothy Stanbury for his wife?

‘Well, you know,’ continued Camilla, ’I think that when a person makes an attempt, and comes by the worst of it, that person should put up with the defeat, and not say all manner of ill-natured things.  Everybody knows that a certain gentleman is very intimate in this house.’

Don’t, dear,’ said Arabella, in a whisper.

‘Yes, I shall,’ said Camilla.  ’I don’t know why people should hold their tongues, when other people talk so loudly.  I don’t care a bit what anybody says about the gentleman and us.  We have known him for ever so many years, and mamma is very fond of him.’

‘Indeed I am, Camilla,’ said Mrs French.

‘And for the matter of that, so am I very,’ said Camilla, laughing bravely.  ‘I don’t care who knows it.’

‘Don’t be so silly, child,’ said Arabella.  Camilla was certainly doing her best, and Arabella was grateful.

‘We don’t care what people may say,’ continued Camilla again.  ’Of course we heard, as everybody else heard too, that a certain gentleman was to be married to a certain lady.  It was nothing to us whether he was married or not.’

‘Nothing at all,’ said Arabella.

’We never spoke ill of the young lady.  We did not interfere.  If the gentleman liked the young lady, he was quite at liberty to marry her, as far as we were concerned.  We had been in the habit of seeing him here, almost as a brother, and perhaps we might feel that a connection with that particular young lady would take him from us; but we never hinted so much even as that to him or to anyone else.  Why should we?  It was nothing to us.  Now it turns out that the gentleman never meant anything of the kind, whereupon he is pretty nearly kicked out of the house, and all manner of ill-natured things are said about us everywhere.’  By this time Camilla had become quite excited, and was speaking with much animation.