"Oh, I am very glad," said Fanny, "I have so wished them to know at the
Homestead," and her deepened colour revealed, against her will, that she
had not been insensible to the awkwardness of the secrecy.
"I should rather like to tell your cousin Rachel myself," said the
Colonel; "she has always been very kind to Ermine, and appreciated her
more than I should have expected. But she is not easily to be seen now."
"Her whole heart is in her orphan asylum," said Fanny. "I hope you will
soon go with us and see it; the little girls look so nice."
The brightening of his prospects seemed to have quite consoled her for
her own perplexities.
That Avonmouth should have no suspicion of the cause of the sudden
change of pastor could hardly be hoped; but at least Lady Temple did not
know how much talk was expended upon her, how quietly Lord Keith hugged
himself, how many comical stories Bessie detailed in her letters to her
Clare cousins, nor how Mrs. Curtis resented the presumption; and while
she shrank from a lecture, more especially as she did not see how dear
Fanny was to blame, flattered herself and Grace that, for the future,
Colonel Keith and Rachel would take better care of her.
Rachel did not dwell much on the subject, it was only the climax of
conceit, croquet, and mere womanhood; and she was chiefly anxious to
know whether Mr. Mitchell, the temporary clergyman, would support the
F. U. E. E., and be liberal enough to tolerate Mr. Mauleverer. She had
great hopes from a London incumbent, and, besides, Bessie Keith knew
him, and spoke of him as a very sensible, agreeable, earnest man.
"Earnest enough for you, Rachel," she said, laughing.
"Is he a party man?"
"Oh, parties are getting obsolete! He works too hard for fighting
battles outside."
The Sunday showed a spare, vigorous face, and a voice and pronunciation
far more refined than poor Mr. Touchett's; also the sermons were far
more interesting, and even Rachel granted that there were ideas in it.
The change was effected with unusual celerity, for it was as needful to
Mrs. Mitchell to be speedily established in a warm climate, as it was
desirable to Mr. Touchett to throw himself into other scenes; and the
little parsonage soon had the unusual ornaments of tiny children with
small spades and wheelbarrows.
The father and mother were evidently very shy people, with a great
deal beneath their timidity, and were much delighted to have an old
acquaintance like Miss Keith to help them through their introductions,
an office which she managed with all her usual bright tact. The
discovery that Stephana Temple and Lucy Mitchell had been born within
two days of one another, was the first link of a warm friendship between
the two mammas; and Mr. Mitchell fell at once into friendly intercourse
with Ermine Williams, to whom Bessie herself conducted him for his first
visit, when they at once discovered all manner of mutual acquaintance
among his college friends; and his next step was to make the very
arrangement for Ermine's church-going, for which she had long been
wishing in secret, but which never having occurred to poor Mr.
Touchett, she had not dared to propose, lest there should be some great
inconvenience in the way.