Therefore the career of the Baroness had not been unearthed. That
the widow of Judge Lawrence, the stepmother of Mrs Cheney, was known
as "The Baroness" caused some questions, to be sure, but the simple
answer that she had been the widow of a French baron in early life
served to allay curiosity, while it rendered the lady herself an
object of greater interest to the majority of people.
Mrs Stuart, the rector's mother, was one of those who were most
impressed by this incident in the life of Mrs Lawrence. "Family
pride" was her greatest weakness, and she dearly loved a title. She
thought Mrs Lawrence a typical "Baroness," and though she knew the
title had only been obtained through marriage, it still rendered its
possessor peculiarly interesting in her eyes.
In her prime, the Baroness had been equally successful in cajoling
women and men. Though her day for ruling men was now over, she still
possessed the power to fascinate women when she chose to exert
herself. She did exert herself with Mrs Stuart, and succeeded
admirably in her design.
And one day Mrs Stuart confided her secret anxiety to the ear of the
Baroness; and that secret caused the cheek of the listener to grow
pale and the look of an animal at bay to come into her eyes.
"There is just one thing that gives me a constant pain at my heart,"
Mrs Stuart had said.
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