To believe, in consequence, that a Hair Bracelet had brought "ill-luck" to the mother, and to derive from that belief the conviction that a Hair Bracelet would therefore also bring "ill-luck" to the child, was a perfectly direct and inevitable deductive process to Mrs.Peckover's superstitious mind.

The motives which had formerly influenced her to forbid her "little Mary" ever to begin anything important on a Friday, or ever to imperil her prosperity by walking under a ladder, were precisely the motives by which she was now actuated in determining to prevent the presentation of young Thorpe's ill-omened gift.
Although Valentine had only caught a word here and there, to guide him to the subject of Mrs.Peckover's mutterings to herself while the game was going on, he guessed easily enough the general tenor of her thoughts, and suspected that she would, ere long, begin to talk louder than was at all desirable, if Zack proceeded much further with his present topic of conversation.

Accordingly, he took advantage of a pause in the game, and of a relapse into another restless fit of walking about the room on young Thorpe's part, to approach his wife's couch, as if he wanted to find something lying near it, and to whisper to her, "Stop his talking any more about that present to Madonna; I'll tell you why another time." Mrs.Blyth very readily and easily complied with this injunction, by telling Zack (with perfect truth) that she had been already a little too much excited by the events of the evening; and that she must put off all further listening or talking, on her part, till the next night, when she promised to advise him about the bracelet to the best of her power.
He was, however, still too full of his subject to relinquish it easily under no stronger influence than the influence of a polite hint.

Having lost one listener in Mrs.Blyth, he boldly tried the experiment of inviting two others to replace her, by addressing himself to the players at the card-table.
"I dare say you have heard what I have been talking about to Mrs.
Blyth ?" he began.
"Lord, Master Zack!" said Mrs.Peckover, "do you think we haven't had something else to do here, besides listening to you?
There, now, don't talk to us, please, till we are done, or you'll throw us out altogether.
Don't, sir, on any account, because we are playing for money--sixpence a game." Repelled on both sides, Zack was obliged to give way.

He walked off to try and amuse himself at the book-case.