A Fair Fraud — page 235: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

224 A Fair Fraud ‘To put an end toall chance of my daughter’s marriage to Captain Drury! Of course, I have seen all along that you aspire to that position yourself—you, the companion!’ Marion coloured, but was wise enough to make no reply. She knew that an angry woman does not scruple to make the most unfounded accusations, and the singleness of her own mind prevented her from feeling any anneyance at the unkind and insulting words. After all, what did it matter what Mrs Lane said, so long as she could keep her from harassing and tormenting her daughter, whose nerves and courage must, at all hazards, be kept up for the trying ordeal that lay before her. And in this object she succeeded, for after she had exhausted the whole of her vocabulary of vituperance, which was by no means limited, Mrs Lane was forced in the end to beat an ignominious retreat to her own room, where- upon Marion immediately went upstairs and mounted guard over her citadel in the attics, from which she safely succeeded in averting an attack until the momentous hour arrived—a measure by which Hester, utterly worn out by fatigue, was enabled to get one good hour of refreshing sleep to brace her for what she had to go through. What followed was more like a terrible night- GON GHOO@ (Si C(O) i