Lady Barbarina, The Siege of London, An International Episode, and Other TalesJames, Henry
General
Lady Barbarina, The Siege of London, An International Episode, and Other Tales
James, Henry
England -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction; Europe -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction
She had betrayed her sister more than she thought, even though Jackson
didn’t particularly show it in the tone in which he commented: “Of course
she knows she’s going to see your mother in the summer.” His tone was
rather that of irritation at so much harping on the very obvious.
“Oh it isn’t only mamma,” the girl said.
“I know she likes a cool house,” Mrs. Lemon contributed.
“When she goes you had better bid her good-bye,” Lady Agatha went on.
“Of course I shall bid her good-bye,” said Mrs. Lemon, to whom apparently
this remark was addressed.
“I’ll never bid _you_ good-bye, Princess,” Herman Longstraw interposed.
“You can bet your life on that.”
“Oh it doesn’t matter about me, for of course I shall come back; but if
Barb once gets to England she never will.”
“Oh my dear child!” Mrs. Lemon wailed, addressing her young visitor, but
looking at her son, who on his side looked at the ceiling, at the floor,
looked above all very conscious.
“I hope you don’t mind my saying that, Jackson dear,” Lady Agatha said to
him, for she was very fond of her brother-in-law.
“Ah well then, she shan’t go there,” he threw off in a moment with a
small strange dry laugh that attached his mother’s eyes in shy
penetration to his face.
“But you promised mamma, you know,” said the girl with the confidence of
her affection.
Jackson’s countenance expressed to her none even of his very moderate
hilarity. “Your mother, then, must bring her back.”
“Get some of your navy people to supply an ironclad!” cried Mr.
Longstraw.
“It would be very pleasant if the Marchioness could come over,” said Mrs.
Lemon.
“Oh she’d hate it more than poor Barb,” Lady Agatha quickly replied. It
didn’t at all suit her to find a marchioness inserted into her field of
vision.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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