He did not talk stupidly by
any means, but rather stiffly, and with the air of a man to whom friendly
converse with a young lady was quite a new thing. He spoke to her a good
deal about the Court and its surroundings--which seemed to her an error in
taste--and appeared anxious to interest her in all his improvements.
"You really must come and see the place, Miss Lovel," he said. "I shall be
deeply wounded if you refuse."
"I will come if you wish it," Clarissa answered meekly; "but you cannot
imagine how painful the sight of the dear old house will be to me."
"A little painful just for the first time, perhaps. But that sort of
feeling will soon wear off. You will come, then? That is settled. I want to
win your father's friendship if I can, and I look to you to put me in the
right way of doing so."
"You are very good, but papa is so reserved--eccentric, I suppose most
people would call him--and he lives shut up in himself, as it were. I
have never known him make a new friend. Even my uncle Oliver and he seem
scarcely more than acquaintances; and yet I know my uncle would do anything
to serve us, and I believe papa knows it too."
"We must trust to time to break down that reserve, Miss Lovel," Mr. Granger
returned cheerily; "and you will come to see us at the Court--that is
understood. I want you to inspect Sophia's schools, and sewing classes, and
cooking classes, and goodness knows what.
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