"That is a very pretty dress you have on; I suppose Dr. Grey bought it
in London?"
"Yes."
"Did he choose it likewise?"
"I believe so."
"My sister always chose her own dresses; but then she paid for them
too. She had a little income of her own, which is a very good thing for
a wife to have."
"A very good thing."
"Indeed, Mrs. Grey, I scarcely expected you to think so."
"I think," said Christian, firmly, though for the moment the silk gown
seemed to burn her arms, and the pearl brooch and lace collar to weigh
like lead on her bosom, "I think that in any true marriage it does not
signify one jot whether the husband or the wife has the money. Shall
we go down stairs?"
There was time for the hot cheek to cool and the angry heart to be
stilled a little before the visitors came.
Miss Gascoigne had truly remarked that the master's wife was
unaccustomed to society--that society which forms the staple of all
provincial towns, well dressed, well mannered, well informed. But it
seemed to Christian as if these ladies, though thoroughly ladylike in
manner, which was very grateful to her innate sense of refinement, all
dressed after one fashion, and talked mostly about the same things. To
her, ungifted with the blessed faculty of small talk, the conversation
appeared somewhat frivolous, unreal, and uninteresting.
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