Her Faithful Knight — page 86: what you’re looking at

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

82 Dorothy Visits Her Aunt. soups. It was very silly not to come to me before. It was your naughty, stupid pride, and I will pay the doctor, the nurse—everything. Leave off crying, do you hear? It upsets me and makes me ill to see crying, and in half an hour my guests for dinner will arrive—Sir John Simp- son and his wife, and the Baroness Wiegenthurn, and Dr. Westall, and Alderman Jackson. If you cry you will make me cry, too, and that will spoil my looks and make me ill. Now, sit down by me and tell me the truth. How did you allow your sister to leave you and get married? And who is her husband? What is his name? Where did she meet him? Why wasI not told? All this is very serious, and I must hear the truth—all the truth.” She settled herself comfortably among the cushions of the sofa and motioned Dorothy to a place beside her, tak- ing the girl’s thin hand between her plump, bejeweled fingers. Thus encouraged, Miss Knight dried her tears and began her story. “Two years ago, when Phyllis was seventeen, I wanted her to become a governess; but she hated the idea, and would go on the stage.” “Ah! surely you did not let her?” “T tried to prevent it. But she got an engagement at a guinea a week in London, and then a year later another, at thirty shillings. We were very glad of the money. In the autumn of last year Phyllis went away to travel for two seasons of twenty weeks each with a great London success. She was to have two pounds ten a week, and it seemed a fortune to us. For eight months I did not see her. I wrote constantly, and she answered sometimes. I hoped to see her at Christmas, but—well, it doesn’t mat- ter now. Aunt Dorothea, remember, last year she was only eighteen; she had never been away from me before, and the people on the tour were common, selfish and un- congenial. She had no companions or friends except one COpnieoookS.eo