She wished evidently to owe nothing to him.

She had begun by leaving the room when he came in, after the conversation she had had with her father; but at Mr Bradshaw's first expression of his wish that she should remain, she remained--silent, indifferent, inattentive to all that was going on; at least there was this appearance of inattention.

She would work away at her sewing as if she were to earn her livelihood by it; the light was gone out of her eyes as she lifted them up heavily before replying to any question, and the eyelids were often swollen with crying.
But in all this there was no positive fault.

Mr Bradshaw could not have told her not to do this, or to do that, without her doing it; for she had become much more docile of late.
It was a wonderful proof of the influence Ruth had gained in the family, that Mr Bradshaw, after much deliberation, congratulated himself on the wise determination he had made of requesting her to speak to Jemima, and find out what feeling was at the bottom of all this change in her ways of going on.
He rang the bell.
"Is Mrs Denbigh here ?" he inquired of the servant who answered it.
"Yes, sir; she is just come." "Beg her to come to me in this room as soon as she can leave the young ladies." Ruth came.
"Sit down, Mrs Denbigh; sit down.

I want to have a little conversation with you; not about your pupils, they are going on well under your care, I am sure; and I often congratulate myself on the choice I made--I assure you I do.