To be sure the folly got very near the point of madness--that was because opposition came in its way.

Wilfrid has for years thought as little of her as of the man in the moon's wife--if he has one.

You are surely not troubling yourself--what ?' Beatrice had thereupon retired into herself.
'You misunderstand me,' she said, rather coldly.

'It was only a recollection of something that had seemed strange to me at the time.' Mrs.Baxendale held another tone, but even she was not altogether sincere--naturally it was impossible to be so.

To begin with, she gave Beatrice to understand, even as she had Wilfrid, that she had now for some time lost sight of Emily, and, consequently, that the latter was less actually interesting to her than was in fact the case.