I think she hardly
knows one _Te Deum_ from another."
"She is rather a nice girl, though," said the Captain, who would fain be
loyal to Clarissa, yet for whom the good opinion of such an heiress is Miss
Granger could not be a matter of indifference--there was always the chance
that she might take a fancy to him, as he put it to his brother-officers,
and what a lucky hit that would be! "She's a nice girl," he repeated, "and
uncommonly pretty."
"I was not discussing her looks, Captain Westleigh," replied Miss Granger
with some asperity; "I was talking of her ideas and tastes, which are quite
different from mine. I am sorry you let Lady Laura persuade you to dance
with a girl like that, papa. You may have offended old friends, who would
fancy they had a prior claim on your attention."
Mr. Granger laughed at this reproof.
"I didn't think a quadrille was such a serious matter, Sophy," he said.
"And then, you see, when a man of my age does make a fool of himself, he
likes to have the prettiest girl in the room for his partner."
Miss Granger made an involuntary wry face, as if she had been eating
something nasty. Mr. Granger gave a great yawn, and, as the rooms by this
time were almost empty, made his way to Lady Laura in order to offer his
congratulations upon her triumph before retiring to rest.
For once in a way, the vivacious chatelaine of Hale Castle was almost
cross.
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