Whilst Margaret fulfilled this commission, and stopped to flirt with the young clerk who received them, an old acquaintance of hers, Mrs. Watson, having first carefully laid aside the suspected epistle to her husband, proceeded up-stairs with Emma's letter, and after turning it over in every direction, and even holding it up to the light at the stair-case window, but without benefit, she suddenly entered the nursery. There she found Janetta had dropped asleep on a bed, and Emma taking advantage of the leisure thus afforded, was preparing to write a letter.
"Janetta asleep, oh!" said the anxious mother, "well then you will have time, Emma, to do a little job for me, I want some alterations in the trimmings of my bombazine gown, and I wish you would do it for me before evening."
"I shall be happy," replied Emma, "to do anything in my power to oblige you, if you will only explain it to me."
"Very well, come with me, and I will shew you what I want; oh, by the bye, here's a letter for you, I think it must be from Miss Osborne from the seal—does she write to you often?"
"No," replied Emma, surprised at hearing this, and holding out her hand for the letter which Mrs. Watson still detained to examine, "I never heard from her before since she left the country!"
"Indeed, what do you suppose she writes about—by the way, I suppose you are not accustomed to receive letters and give no account of them, are you?"
"Indeed I am," replied Emma, quite ashamed at the idea of supervision in such a particular, "I have never been controlled in either receiving or writing a letter."
"I consider that an exceedingly improper liberty for a young girl," observed Mrs. Watson drily, "at your time of life, under age, I should hold your guardian as very culpable if he took no account of your letters, and I am much mistaken if your brother does not expect, as a matter of course, to overlook all the correspondence you chose to carry on."
"Surely he cannot consider it necessary," remonstrated Emma seriously, "at my age—it is not as if I were a baby quite, but I am almost twenty."
"Possibly so, but whilst you are under age you are his ward, and must have to submit to any restrictions he lays on you with a good grace. It's no use colouring and pouting, there's nothing like bearing things with a good temper, and not giving yourself airs and graces about it. There's your letter!"