"I am his sister," she would say to herself. "That old bond is not
done away with, though he is too much absorbed by Cynthia to speak
about it just now. His mother called me 'Fanny;' it was almost like
an adoption. I must wait and watch, and see if I can do anything for
my brother."
One day Lady Harriet came to call on the Gibsons, or rather on Mrs.
Gibson, for the latter retained her old jealousy if any one else
in Hollingford was supposed to be on intimate terms at the great
house, or in the least acquainted with their plans. Mr. Gibson might
possibly know as much, but then he was professionally bound to
secrecy. Out of the house she considered Mr. Preston as her rival,
and he was aware that she did so, and delighted in teasing her by
affecting a knowledge of family plans and details of affairs of which
she was ignorant. Indoors she was jealous of the fancy Lady Harriet
had evidently taken for her step-daughter, and she contrived to place
quiet obstacles in the way of a too frequent intercourse between the
two. These obstacles were not unlike the shield of the knight in
the old story; only instead of the two sides presented to the two
travellers approaching it from opposite quarters, one of which was
silver, and one of which was gold, Lady Harriet saw the smooth and
shining yellow radiance, while poor Molly only perceived a dull and
heavy lead. To Lady Harriet it was "Molly is gone out; she will be so
sorry to miss you, but she was obliged to go to see some old friends
of her mother's whom she ought not to neglect; as I said to her,
constancy is everything. It is Sterne, I think, who says, 'Thine own
and thy mother's friends forsake not.' But, dear Lady Harriet, you'll
stop till she comes home, won't you? I know how fond you are of her;
in fact" (with a little surface playfulness) "I sometimes say you
come more to see her than your poor old Clare."
To Molly it had previously been,--
"Lady Harriet is coming here this morning. I can't have any one else
coming in. Tell Maria to say I'm not at home. Lady Harriet has always
so much to tell me. Dear Lady Harriet! I've known all her secrets
since she was twelve years old. You two girls must keep out of the
way. Of course she'll ask for you, out of common civility; but
you would only interrupt us if you came in, as you did the other
day;"--now addressing Molly--"I hardly like to say so, but I thought
it was very forward."