"Oh, Mrs. Grey, what a nice room this is! How you must enjoy it! It's
a hard life, teaching children."
"It is a hard life, as I know, for I was once a governess myself."
This admission, given so frankly, without the least hesitation, evidently
quite surprised Miss Bennett. With still greater curiosity than the fine
room, she regarded the fine lady who had once been a governess, and
was not ashamed to own it.
"Well, all I can say is, you have been very lucky in your marriage, Mrs.
Grey; I only wish I might be the same."
"That is exactly--" said Christian, catching at any thing in her nervous
difficulty as to how she should open such an unpleasant subject--"no,
not exactly, but partly, what I wished to speak to you about. Excuse a
plain, almost rude question, which you can refuse to answer if you like;
but, Miss Bennett, I should be very glad to know if you are engaged?"
"Engaged by Miss Gascoigne?"
"No; engaged to be married."
Miss Bennett drew back, blushed a little, looked much annoyed, and
answered sharply, apparently involuntarily, "No!"
"Then--excuse me again--I would not ask if I did not feel it absolutely
my duty, in order that we may come to a right understanding--but the
gentleman you were walking with yesterday, when you asked Letitia to
meet you in Walnut-tree Court, was he a brother, or cousin, or what?"
Susan Bennett was altogether confounded.
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