All this had taken place before Roger's first meeting with Molly and
Cynthia at Miss Brownings'; and the little dinner on the Friday at
Mr. Gibson's, which followed in due sequence.
Mrs. Gibson intended the Hamleys to find this dinner pleasant; and
they did. Mr. Gibson was fond of the two young men, both for their
parents' sake and their own, for he had known them since boyhood; and
to those whom he liked Mr. Gibson could be remarkably agreeable. Mrs.
Gibson really gave them a welcome--and cordiality in a hostess is a
very becoming mantle for any other deficiencies there may be. Cynthia
and Molly looked their best, which was all the duty Mrs. Gibson
absolutely required of them, as she was willing enough to take her
full share in the conversation. Osborne fell to her lot, of course,
and for some time he and she prattled on with all the ease of manner
and commonplaceness of meaning which go far to make the "art of
polite conversation." Roger, who ought to have made himself agreeable
to one or the other of the young ladies, was exceedingly interested
in what Mr. Gibson was telling him of a paper on comparative
osteology in some foreign journal of science, which Lord Hollingford
was in the habit of forwarding to his friend the country surgeon.
Yet, every now and then while he listened, he caught his attention
wandering to the face of Cynthia, who was placed between his brother
and Mr. Gibson. She was not particularly occupied with attending to
anything that was going on; her eyelids were carelessly dropped, as
she crumbled her bread on the tablecloth, and her beautiful long
eyelashes were seen on the clear tint of her oval cheek. She was
thinking of something else; Molly was trying to understand with all
her might. Suddenly Cynthia looked up, and caught Roger's gaze of
intent admiration too fully for her to be unaware that he was staring
at her. She coloured a little; but, after the first moment of rosy
confusion at his evident admiration of her, she flew to the attack,
diverting his confusion at thus being caught, to the defence of
himself from her accusation.
"It is quite true!" she said to him. "I was not attending: you see
I don't know even the A B C of science. But, please, don't look so
severely at me, even if I am a dunce!"
"I didn't know--I didn't mean to look severely, I am sure," replied
he, not knowing well what to say.
"Cynthia is not a dunce either," said Mrs. Gibson, afraid lest her
daughter's opinion of herself might be taken seriously. "But I have
always observed that some people have a talent for one thing and
some for another. Now Cynthia's talents are not for science and the
severer studies. Do you remember, love, what trouble I had to teach
you the use of the globes?"