'I remain, my dear niece, your most affectionate uncle and guardian,
SILAS RUTHYN.'
'P.S.--Pray present my respects to Lady Knollys, who, I understand, is
sojourning at Knowl. I would observe that a lady who cherishes, I have
reason to fear, unfriendly feelings against your uncle, is not the most
desirable companion for his ward. But upon the express condition that I am
not made the subject of your discussions--a distinction which could not
conduce to your forming a just and respectful estimate of me--I do not
interpose my authority to bring your intercourse to an immediate close.'
As I read this postscript, my cheek tingled as if I had received a box on
the ear. Uncle Silas was as yet a stranger. The menace of authority was new
and sudden, and I felt with a pang of mortification the full force of the
position in which my dear father's will had placed me.
I was silent, and handed the letter to my cousin, who read it with a
kind of smile until she came, as I supposed, to the postscript, when her
countenance, on which my eyes were fixed, changed, and with flushed cheeks
she knocked the hand that held the letter on the table before her, and
exclaimed--
'Did I ever hear! Well, if this isn't impertinence! _What_ an old man that
is!'
There was a pause, during which Lady Knollys held her head high with a
frown, and sniffed a little.
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