Page:Lady Anne Granard 1.pdf/97

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LADY ANNE GRANARD.

ance, who was looking, if possible, worse than usual. "Such a man, and such a fortune," thought her ladyship, "may marry whom he pleases;" and, contrary to her original plan, she determined that Louisa and Georgiana should sit next him at dinner.

Certainly the idea of falling in love with those whom he had never thought of but as children never crossed Mr. Glentworth, as he at once said, laughing, and averred that he was taken quite by surprise to find himself among so many lovely young women; but he greeted them with that easy affection which showed he intended to retain his footing as an old friend of the family, and was the first to go back upon his old appellation of Uncle Frank. "But here are only four," said he; "where is the fifth?"

"Isabella does not dine with us, except when we take our early dinner alone," replied Lady Anne.

"I had hoped to have seen all my young friends together;" but Mr. Glentworth was interrupted by the announcement of dinner, where Lady Anne, by two or three quiet manœuvres, contrived to make her daughters understand that the arrangements which she had so carefully impressed upon their minds, were to be broken. Mr. Glentworth took the foot of the table, and Louisa and Georgiana sat on either side. The dinner went off very well, though there was a degree of restraint. With all the graceful ease of Lady Anne’s manners, they never encouraged any spontaneous flow of feeling or of thought—you felt intuitively