Why do you make such a point of my leaving him." Aunt Aggie was entirely nonplussed.

A thousand similar experiences had never lessened the shock of the discrepancy between what she expected her sister to say, and what she actually said.
"I thought, I thought," she stammered, "I felt sure that, I see now I was wrong, but I had a conviction that that letter--you see I knew you were thinking of writing--was to, was in short to Lord Lossiemouth." Aunt Mary's face became magenta colour.
"To Lord Lossiemouth! Why should you think I was writing to him ?" "Well, I could not help knowing--don't you remember how you discussed the subject with me and dear Magdalen some weeks ago ?--that the subject of a judicious and dignified letter was in your mind." "I was careful not to mention the subject to Magdalen in your presence.
I see now that you must have listened outside the door." Aunt Aggie experienced a second shock.

How did Mary always spy out these things?
"I can't think," continued Lady Blore, "how you can lower yourself to eavesdrop in the way you do; and if you must do these underhand actions, why you don't conceal them better.

When you read a private letter of mine the other day, because I inadvertently left it for a moment on my writing-table----" "You always say you lock up your private letters, you do, indeed, Mary.
_Be_ fair.

I could not _tell_ it was private." "You would have been wiser not to have alluded next day to its contents.
If you had not done so I might not have known you had read it." Aunt Aggie burst into tears.
"The truth is I am not secretive like you, Mary," she said between her sobs.