'
I was, perhaps, thinking more of Lord Ilbury than I was aware; and I am
sure if Captain Oakley had arrived that day, I should have treated him with
most unjustifiable rudeness.
Notwithstanding this unfortunate blush, the remainder of our visit passed
very happily for me. No one who has not experienced it can have an idea
how intimate a small party, such as ours, will grow in a short time in a
country house.
Of course, a young lady of a well-regulated mind cannot possibly care a
pin about any one of the opposite sex until she is well assured that he is
beginning, at least, to like her better than all the world beside; but I
could not deny to myself that I was rather anxious to know more about Lord
Ilbury than I actually did know.
There was a 'Peerage,' in its bright scarlet and gold uniform, corpulent
and tempting, upon the little marble table in the drawing-room. I had many
opportunities of consulting it, but I never could find courage to do so.
For an inexperienced person it would have been a matter of several minutes,
and during those minutes what awful risk of surprise and detection.
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