Diana's disillusion about her cousin was,
so far, no very lofty matter. It hurt; but on her run to the village the
natural common-sense Mrs. Colwood had detected had wrestled stoutly with
her wounded feelings. Better take it with a laugh! To laugh, however,
one must be distracted; and Mrs. Roughsedge, bubbling over with gossip
and good-humor, was distraction personified. Stern Justice, in the
person of Lord M.'s gamekeeper, had that morning brought back Diana's
two dogs in leash, a pair of abject and convicted villains, from the
delirium of a night's hunting. The son of Miss Bertram's coachman had
only just missed an appointment under the District Council by one place
on the list of candidates. A "Red Van" bursting with Socialist
literature had that morning taken up its place on the village green; and
Diana's poor housemaid, in payment for a lifetime's neglect, must now
lose every tooth in her head, according to the verdict of the local
dentist, an excellent young man, in Mrs. Roughsedge's opinion, but
ready to give you almost too much pulling out for your money. On all
these topics she overflowed--with much fun and unfailing good-humor.
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