It was difficult for any one to understand Lucy's state of mind at present, and it can hardly be said that she understood it herself.

She felt that she had received a severe blow in having been thus made the subject of remark with reference to Lord Lufton.

She knew that her pleasant evenings at Framley Court were now over, and that she could not again talk to him in an unrestrained tone and without embarrassment.

She had felt the air of the whole place to be very cold before her intimacy with him, and now it must be cold again.
Two homes had been open to her; Framley Court and the parsonage; and now, as far as comfort was concerned, she must confine herself to the latter.

She could not again be comfortable in Lady Lufton's drawing-room.