’Quite true, my dear, but that does not make the words out of her mouth the less efficacious for evil.  She clearly insinuated that you had endeavoured to make up a match between this gentleman and your niece, and that you had failed.’  So much was at least true.  Miss Stanbury felt this, and felt also that she could not explain the truth, even to her dear old friend.  In the midst of her divine wrath she had acknowledged to herself that she had brought Mr Gibson into his difficulty, and that it would not become her to tell any one of his failure.  And in this matter she did not herself accuse Mr Gibson.  She believed that the lie originated with Camilla French, and it was against Camilla that her wrath raged the fiercest.

‘She is a poor, mean, disappointed thing,’ said Miss Stanbury.

’Very probably, but I think I should ask her to hold her tongue about Miss Dorothy,’ said Mrs Clifford.

The consultation in the closet was carried on for about half-an-hour, and then Miss Stanbury put on her bonnet and shawl and descended into Mrs Clifford’s carriage.  The carriage took the Heavitree road, and deposited Miss Stanbury at the door of Mrs French’s house.  The walk home from Heavitree would be nothing, and Mrs Clifford proceeded on her way, having given this little help in counsel, and conveyance to her friend.  Mrs French was at home, and Miss Stanbury was shown up into the room in which, the three ladies were sitting.

The reader will doubtless remember the promise which Arabella had made to Mr Gibson.  That promise she had already fulfilled to the amazement of her mother and sister; and when Miss Stanbury entered the room the elder daughter of the family was seen without her accustomed head-gear.  If the truth is to be owned, Miss Stanbury gave the poor young woman no credit for her new simplicity, but put down the deficiency to the charge of domestic slatternliness.  She was unjust enough to declare afterwards that she had found Arabella French only half dressed at between three and four o’clock in the afternoon!  From which this lesson may surely be learned:  that though the way down Avernus may be, and customarily is, made with great celerity, the return journey, if made at all, must be made slowly.  A young woman may commence in chignons by attaching any amount of an edifice to her head; but the reduction should be made by degrees.  Arabella’s edifice had, in Miss Stanbury’s eyes, been the ugliest thing in art that she had known; but, now, its absence offended her, and she most untruly declared that she had come upon the young woman in the middle of the day just out of her bed-room and almost in her dressing-gown.

And the whole French family suffered a diminution of power from the strange phantasy which had come upon Arabella.  They all felt, in sight of the enemy, that they had to a certain degree lowered their flag.  One of the ships, at least, had shown signs of striking, and this element of weakness made itself felt through the whole fleet.  Arabella, herself, when she saw Miss Stanbury, was painfully conscious of her head, and wished that she had postponed the operation till the evening.  She smiled with a faint watery smile, and was aware that something ailed her.