And now I must tell you something about myself because if you are to be my sister you ought to know it all.  I also am going to be married to a man whom I love oh, so dearly!  His name is Mr Brooke Burgess, and he is a great friend of my aunt’s.  At first she did not like our being engaged, because of some family reason—­but she has got over that, and nothing can be kinder and nicer than she is.  We are to be married here, some day in June, the 11th I think it will be.  How I do wish you could have been here to be my bridesmaid.  It would have been so nice to have had Hugh’s sweetheart with me.  He is a friend of Hugh’s, and no doubt you will hear all about him.  The worst of it is that we must live in London, because my husband as will be—­you see I call him mine already—­ is in an office there.  And so poor Aunt Stanbury will be left all alone.  It will be very sad, and she is so wedded to Exeter that I fear we shall not get her up to London.

I would describe Mr Burgess to you, only I do not suppose you would care to hear about him.  He is not so tall as Hugh, but he is a great deal better looking.  With you two the good looks are to be with the wife; but, with us, with the husband.  Perhaps you think Hugh is handsome.  We used to declare that he was the ugliest boy in the country.  I don’t suppose it makes very much difference.  Brooke is handsome, but I don’t think I should like him the less if he were ever so ugly.

Do you remember hearing about the Miss Frenches when you were in Devonshire?  There has come up such a terrible affair about them.  A Mr Gibson, a clergyman, was going to marry the younger; but has changed his mind and wants to take the elder.  I think he was in love with her first.’  Dorothy did not say a word about the little intermediate stage of attachment to herself.  ’All this is making a great noise in the city, and some people think he should be punished severely.  It seems to me that a gentleman ought not to make such a mistake; but if he does, he ought to own it.  I hope they will let him marry the eider one.  Aunt Stanbury says it all comes from their wearing chignons.  I wish you knew Aunt Stanbury, because she is so good.  Perhaps you wear a chignon.  I think Priscilla said that you did.  It must not be large, if you come to see Aunt Stanbury.

Pray write to me and believe that I hope to be your most affectionate sister,

Dorothy Stanbury.

P.S.  I am so happy, and I do so hope that you will be the same.’

This was received only a day before the departure of the Rowleys for Italy, and was answered by a short note promising that Nora would write to her correspondent from Florence.