She was bewildered, staggered, for want of money; she had just two
shillings in the world. Florence and Walter were still away; she could
think of no one of whom to borrow. She came to a confectioner’s shop,
and looked at it hesitatingly, for she was tired and exhausted. Even
though Alfred Wimple waited at the other end, mercilessly ready to count
the coins with which she returned, she felt that she must buy a few
minutes’ rest for herself. She wanted to sit down and think. She
tottered into the shop, and having asked for a cup of tea, waited for
it, with a sigh of relief, in a dark corner. But she was too much
stupefied and beaten to think clearly. When the tea came, hot and
smoking, in a thick white cup, to which her lips clung gratefully, she
felt better. She began to burn with indignation, which was an excellent
sign; she crushed Sir William Rammage out of her thoughts, and winked
almost savagely, as though she had felt him under her foot. She told
herself again that Alfred could not have known about the will, and had
not deceived her about Liphook. She even tried to think of him
affectionately, though that was difficult, with the dread of his face
before her if she returned empty-handed. But she did not think of the
money question as despairingly now as she had done a few minutes since;
she had a firm belief in her own power of resource. She felt certain
that when she had reflected calmly, something would suggest itself. She
remembered Mrs. North; but it was not possible to borrow of her, for she
had forfeited all consideration to the regard Aunt Anne thought it
necessary to feel for any one from whom she could accept a loan.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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