"If you can without fatigue, dear, do come down to dinner to-day;
you'll then see the people one by one as they appear, instead of
having to encounter a crowd of strangers. Hollingford will be here
too. I hope you'll find it pleasant."
So Molly made her appearance at dinner that day; and got to know, by
sight at least, some of the most distinguished of the visitors at the
Towers. The next day was Thursday, Cynthia's wedding-day; bright and
fine in the country, whatever it might be in London. And there were
several letters from the home-people awaiting Molly when she came
downstairs to the late breakfast. For, every day, every hour, she was
gaining strength and health, and she was unwilling to continue her
invalid habits any longer than was necessary. She looked so much
better that Sir Charles noticed it to Lady Harriet; and several of
the visitors spoke of her this morning as a very pretty, lady-like,
and graceful girl. This was Thursday; on Friday, as Lady Harriet had
told her, some visitors from the more immediate neighbourhood were
expected to stay over the Sunday; but she had not mentioned their
names, and when Molly went down into the drawing-room before dinner,
she was almost startled by perceiving Roger Hamley in the centre of
a group of gentlemen, who were all talking together eagerly, and, as
it seemed to her, making him the object of their attention. He made
a hitch in his conversation, lost the precise meaning of a question
addressed to him, answered it rather hastily, and made his way
to where Molly was sitting, a little behind Lady Harriet. He had
heard that she was staying at the Towers, but he was almost as much
surprised by hers, as she was by his unexpected appearance, for he
had only seen her once or twice since his return from Africa, and
then in the guise of an invalid. Now in her pretty evening dress,
with her hair beautifully dressed, her delicate complexion flushed a
little with timidity, yet her movements and manners bespeaking quiet
ease, Roger hardly recognized her, although he acknowledged her
identity. He began to feel that admiring deference which most young
men experience when conversing with a very pretty girl: a sort of
desire to obtain her good opinion in a manner very different to his
old familiar friendliness. He was annoyed when Sir Charles, whose
especial charge she still was, came up to take her in to dinner. He
could not quite understand the smile of mutual intelligence that
passed between the two, each being aware of Lady Harriet's plan
of sheltering Molly from the necessity of talking, and acting in
conformity with her wishes as much as with their own. Roger found
himself puzzling, and watching them from time to time during
dinner. Again in the evening he sought her out, but found her again
pre-occupied with one of the young men staying in the house, who had
had the advantage of two days of mutual interest, and acquaintance
with the daily events and jokes and anxieties of the family circle.
Molly could not help wishing to break off all this trivial talk and
to make room for Roger: she had so much to ask him about everything
at the Hall; he was, and had been such a stranger to them all for
these last two months, and more. But though each wanted to speak to
the other more than to any one else in the room, it so happened that
everything seemed to conspire to prevent it. Lord Hollingford carried
off Roger to the cluster of middle-aged men; he was wanted to give
his opinion upon some scientific subject. Mr. Ernulphus Watson,
the young man referred to above, kept his place by Molly, as the
prettiest girl in the room, and almost dazed her by his never-ceasing
flow of clever small-talk. She looked so tired and pale at last that
the ever-watchful Lady Harriet sent Sir Charles to the rescue, and
after a few words with Lady Harriet, Roger saw Molly quietly leave
the room; and a sentence or two which he heard Lady Harriet address
to her cousin made him know that it was for the night. Those
sentences might bear another interpretation than the obvious one.