Then the door of the inner hall
opened, and he caught Diana's hurrying feet, and her cry--
"Fanny!"
He passed the lady and escaped. As he rode away into the darkness of the
lanes he was conscious of an impression which had for the moment checked
the happy flutter of blood and pulse. Was _that_ the long-expected
cousin? Poor Diana! A common-looking, vulgar young woman--with a most
unpleasant voice and accent. An unpleasant manner, too, to the
servants--half arrogant, half familiar. What a hat!--and what a
fringe!--worthy of some young "lidy" in the Old Kent Road! The thought
of Diana sitting at table with such a person on equal terms pricked him
with annoyance; for he had all his mother's fastidiousness, though it
showed itself in different forms. He blamed Mrs. Colwood--Diana ought to
have been more cautiously guided. The thought of all the tender
preparation made for the girl was both amusing and repellent.
Miss Merton, he understood, was Diana's cousin on the mother's side--the
daughter of her mother's sister. A swarm of questions suddenly arose in
his mind--questions not hitherto entertained. Had there been, in fact, a
_mesalliance_--some disagreeable story--which accounted, perhaps, for
the self-banishment of Mr.
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