Time seemed to have stood still with Amy, for happiness had kept her young and prosperity given her the culture she needed.

A stately, graceful woman, who showed how elegant simplicity could be made by the taste with which she chose her dress and the grace with which she wore it.

As someone said: 'I never know what Mrs Laurence has on, but I always receive the impression that she is the best-dressed lady in the room.' It was evident that she adored her daughter, and well she might; for the beauty she had longed for seemed, to her fond eyes at least, to be impersonated in this younger self.

Bess inherited her mother's Diana-like figure, blue eyes, fair skin, and golden hair, tied up in the same classic knot of curls.

Also--ah! never-ending source of joy to Amy--she had her father's handsome nose and mouth, cast in a feminine mould.