"
"Oh, Lady Lufton, don't say that," said Mrs. Robarts, with tears in
her eyes.
"Mamma, mamma, don't speak in that way," said Lady Meredith.
"But, my dear, what am I to say? I must speak in that way. You would
not wish me to speak falsehoods, would you? A man must choose for
himself, but he can't live with two different sets of people; at
least, not if I belong to one and the Duke of Omnium to the other.
The bishop going indeed! If there be anything that I hate it is
hypocrisy."
"There is no hypocrisy in that, Lady Lufton."
"But I say there is, Fanny. Very strange, indeed! 'Put off his
defence!' Why should a man need any defence to his wife if he acts in
a straightforward way? His own language condemns him: 'Wrong to stand
out!' Now, will either of you tell me that Mr. Robarts would really
have thought it wrong to refuse that invitation? I say that that is
hypocrisy. There is no other word for it." By this time the poor
wife, who had been in tears, was wiping them away and preparing for
action. Lady Lufton's extreme severity gave her courage. She knew
that it behoved her to fight for her husband when he was thus
attacked. Had Lady Lufton been moderate in her remarks Mrs. Robarts
would not have had a word to say.
"My husband may have been ill-judged," she said, "but he is no
hypocrite.
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