"Is there?" said Lucy. "Oh! I saw Lord Lufton the other day with a
great armful of pheasants."
"An armful! Why we had seven cartloads the other day at Gatherum."
"Seven carts full of pheasants!" said Lucy, amazed.
"That's not so much. We had eight guns, you know. Eight guns will do
a deal of work when the game has been well got together. They manage
all that capitally at Gatherum. Been at the duke's, eh?" Lucy had
heard the Framley report as to Gatherum Castle, and said with a sort
of shudder that she had never been at that place. After this, Captain
Culpepper troubled her no further.
When the ladies had taken themselves to the drawing-room Lucy found
herself hardly better off than she had been at the dinner-table. Lady
Lufton and Mrs. Grantly got themselves on to a sofa together, and
there chatted confidentially into each other's ears. Her ladyship
had introduced Lucy and Miss Grantly, and then she naturally thought
that the young people might do very well together. Mrs. Robarts did
attempt to bring about a joint conversation, which should include the
three, and for ten minutes or so she worked hard at it. But it did
not thrive. Miss Grantly was monosyllabic, smiling, however, at every
monosyllable; and Lucy found that nothing would occur to her at that
moment worthy of being spoken.
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