England -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction; Short stories, English
On Saturday morning at market she met Madame Carimon, who invited her
for the following day, Sunday. Lavinia hesitated. Glad enough indeed
she was at the prospect of being taken out of her solitary home for
a happy day at Mary Carimon's; but she shrank from again risking the
dreadful feeling which would be sure to attack her when going into the
house at night.
"You must come, Lavinia," cheerily urged Madame Carimon. "I have invited
the English teacher at Madame Deauville's school; she has no friends
here, poor thing."
"Well, I will come, Mary; thank you," said Lavinia slowly.
"To be sure you will. Why do you hesitate at all?"
Lavinia could not say why in the midst of the jostling market-place;
perhaps would not had they been alone. "For one thing, they may be
coming home before to-morrow," observed Lavinia, alluding to Mr. and
Mrs. Fennel.
"Let them come. You are not obliged to stay at home with them," laughed
Mary.
_From the Diary of Miss Preen._
_Monday morning._--Well, it is over. The horror of last night is over,
and I have not died of it. That will be considered a strong expression,
should any eye save my own see this diary: but I truly believe the
horror would kill me if I were subjected many more times to it.
I went to Mary Carimon's after our service was over in the morning,
and we had a pleasant day there. The more I see of Monsieur Jules the
more I esteem and respect him. He is so genuine, so good at heart, so
simple in manner. Miss Perry is very agreeable; not so young as I
had thought--thirty last birthday, she says. Her English is good and
refined, and that is not always the case with the English teachers who
come over to France--the French ladies who engage them cannot judge of
our accent.
Miss Perry and I left together a little before ten. She wished me
good-night in the Rue Tessin, Madame Deauville's house lying one way,
mine another. The horror began to come over me as I crossed the Place
Ronde, which had never happened before. Stay; not the horror itself, but
the dread of it. An impulse actually crossed me to ring at Madame
Sauvage's, and ask Mariette to accompany me up the entry, and stand at
my open door whilst I went in to light the candle. But I could see no
light in the house, not even in madame's salon, and supposed she and
Mariette might be gone to bed. They are early people on Sundays, and the
two young men have their latch-keys.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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