“I have been listening in pain and astonishment,” responded Mrs. Grahame; “the subject is some creature who suddenly intruded herself upon your family and your guests in your garden, Mr. Grahame.”
“Intruded herself in my garden!” exclaimed ‘Mr. Grahame, in a tone of outraged dignity.
“His grace, perhaps, will repeat the romantic story?” added Mrs. Grahame.
“Oh, weadily, weadily! you are wight, madam, the stowy is womantic,” returned the Duke, with vivacity. “The fact is, my deaw host,” continued he, “we weaw all in the gawden the othaw mawning; we had awested owaw steps for a few seconds, when, all of a moment, an appawition of angelic beauty pwesented itself to owaw dazzled eyes.”
“In my garden!” exclaimed Mr. Grahame, fiercely, as much as to say, “how dare apparitions of angelic beauty present themselves in _my_ garden?”
“No,” returned the Duke, “in the next gawden to the left. She wemained but faw an instant, and then dis-appeawed. We aw divided in opinion with wespect to haw chawms.”
The manner of Mr. Grahame in a moment strangely altered its character.
“The young lady is exquisitely beautiful!” he exclaimed, with an emphasis which made Mrs. Grahame slowly elongate upwards and Margaret Claverhouse open her eyes to their full extent, while the others looked at him with surprise.
“I should have hardly conceived that such a person had attracted the notice of Claver’se Grahame!” she exclaimed, in a tone of contemptuous surprise.
“I have just returned from a visit to the young lady’s father,” he returned, sharply stung by the tone of his wife’s remark.
Mrs. Grahame knew not how to support this dreadful wound to her pride; her upper lip trembled.
“Pray, Mr. Grahame,” she said, “have you been seized by the weakness of toadying to some man, some person, some mushroom trader, because he has been able to make a little parade by successful plunder?”
“Stay, Mistress Grahame,” exclaimed Mr. Grahame, with imperious grandeur. “Before you suffer yourself to be betrayed into any observation you may be disposed hereafter to recall, let me inform you that Mr. Wilton, the father of the young lady of whom you appear to speak and think so slightingly, is a gentleman possessing twenty thousand a year, and cash to the extent of one hundred and fifty thousand pounds”----