"She will do exceedingly well for Justinia." Now this was not good-natured on the part of Lord Lufton; and his mother felt it the more strongly, inasmuch as it seemed to signify that he was setting his back up against the Lufton-Grantly alliance.

She had been pretty sure that he would do so in the event of his suspecting that a plot was being laid to catch him; and now it almost appeared that he did suspect such a plot.

Why else that sarcasm as to Griselda doing very well for his sister?
And now we must go back and describe a little scene at Framley, which will account for his Lordship's ill-humour and suspicions, and explain how it came to pass that he so snubbed his mother.

This scene took place about ten days after the evening on which Mrs.Robarts and Lucy were walking together in the parsonage garden, and during those ten days Lucy had not once allowed herself to be entrapped into any special conversation with the young peer.

She had dined at Framley Court during that interval, and had spent a second evening there; Lord Lufton had also been up at the parsonage on three or four occasions, and had looked for her in her usual walks; but, nevertheless, they had never come together in their old familiar way, since the day on which Lady Lufton had hinted her fears to Mrs.
Robarts.
Lord Lufton had very much missed her.