His Grace — page 264: what you’re looking at

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

258 HIS GRACE. are not broken so easily as all that; but she appeared to be in some measure consoled by the convincing terms in which I represented to her that, from the moment their quarry was released, neither Lady Deverell nor Mr. Gascoigne could have any conceivable motive for disclosing what she was so eager to bury in oblivion. She left the room at last in a somewhat happier frame of mind,and, I daresay, went upstairs to conceal the traces of her emotion beneath the customary coat of rouge and white-wash. I was thankful to her for her delicacy in abstaining from any reference to Nora (be- cause it was evident that Hurstbourne had been as frank with her as he had been with me), and also for the matter-of-course way in which she received the announce- ment of my impending resignation. I had been pre- pared for some useless opposition and remonstrance on the latter head. I did subsequently meet with some opposition from Hurstbourne, who seemed to think that he had involved me in his downfall, and who reproached himself for hav- ing caused me, as he phrased it, to “make a false start” in life. He declared that he could see no earth- ly reason why I should not continue to draw my salary and manage his affairs for him during his absence. He would not accept as a serious excuse (indeed it was not a very good one) my allegation that he would soon have no affairs to manage; he even wentso far to accuse me of ratting from a sinking ship. However, he had no answer to make when I asked him whether, after the confession that I had had from him, he thought it would be desirable or possible for my sister to live with me while I was living upon his estate. My sister, I added, would have to live with me, because there was Eomichbooks (@) (E(0) m