The rich and
prosperous ignored her existence; and the poor? Well, there was a
change there that pained her equally. If she visited their cottages,
and was pleasant and generous, they thought little of the grace.
"There must be summat wrong wi' her, or all t' gentlefolks wouldn't
treat her like t' dirt under their feet," said one old crone, after
pocketing a shilling with a courtsey.
"Ay, and she wouldn't come smilin' and talkin' here, if she'd any body
else to speak to. I'm a poor woman, Betty Tibbs, but I'm decent, and
I'm none set up wi' Miss' fair words--not I, indeed!" said another;
and though people may not actually hear the syllables which mouth such
sentiments, it seems really as if a bird of the air, or something still
more subtle, did carry the matter, for the slandered person
instinctively knows the slanderer.
And no word of regret or of love came from Antony to lighten the burden
she was carrying. If she had only known that he was doing well, was
endeavoring to redeem the past, it would have been some consolation.
Phyllis, also, wrote more seldom. She had now two children and a large
number of servants to care for, and her time was filled with many
sweet and engrossing interests. Besides, though she fully believed
in Elizabeth, she did also feel for her brother. She thought Richard,
at any rate, ought to have been treated with full confidence, and
half-feared that pride of her family and position was at the bottom
of Elizabeth's severance of the engagement.
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