The illness which he apprehended came upon Molly; not violently or
acutely, so that there was any immediate danger to be dreaded; but
making a long pull upon her strength, which seemed to lessen day
by day, until at last her father feared that she might become a
permanent invalid. There was nothing very decided or alarming to tell
Cynthia, and Mrs. Gibson kept the dark side from her in her letters.
"Molly was feeling the spring weather;" or "Molly had been a good
deal overdone with her stay at the Hall, and was resting;" such
little sentences told nothing of Molly's real state. But then, as
Mrs. Gibson said to herself, it would be a pity to disturb Cynthia's
pleasure by telling her much about Molly; indeed, there was not much
to tell, one day was so like another. But it so happened that Lady
Harriet,--who came whenever she could to sit awhile with Molly,
at first against Mrs. Gibson's will, and afterwards with her full
consent,--for reasons of her own, Lady Harriet wrote a letter to
Cynthia, to which she was urged by Mrs. Gibson. It fell out in this
manner:--One day, when Lady Harriet was sitting in the drawing-room
for a few minutes after she had been with Molly, she said,--
"Really, Clare, I spend so much time in your house that I'm going
to establish a work-basket here. Mary has infected me with her
notability, and I'm going to work mamma a footstool. It is to be
a surprise; and so if I do it here she will know nothing about it.
Only I cannot match the gold beads I want for the pansies in this
dear little town; and Hollingford, who could send me down stars and
planets if I asked him, I make no doubt, could no more match beads
than--"
"My dear Lady Harriet! you forget Cynthia! Think what a pleasure it
would be to her to do anything for you."
"Would it? Then she shall have plenty of it; but mind, it is you who
have answered for her. She shall get me some wool too; how good I am
to confer so much pleasure on a fellow-creature! But seriously, do
you think I might write and give her a few commissions? Neither Agnes
nor Mary are in town--"
"I am sure she would be delighted," said Mrs. Gibson, who also took
into consideration the reflection of aristocratic honour that would
fall upon Cynthia if she had a letter from Lady Harriet while at
Mr. Kirkpatrick's. So she gave the address, and Lady Harriet wrote.
All the first part of the letter was taken up with apology and
commissions; but then, never doubting but that Cynthia was aware of
Molly's state, she went on to say--