She caught Ralph by himself and
spoke to him so much like a sympathetic sister that he was a little,
just the least little bit in the world, pained.
As Cicely had never had any objection to Miss Bannister, excepting her
frequent appearances in Ralph's conversation, she received Dora's
felicitations with the same cordiality that she saw in her lovely eyes
and on her lips. And Mrs. Drane thought that if this girl were a sample
of the Haverleys' friends and neighbors, her daughter's lot would be even
more pleasant than she had supposed it would be. As for Miriam, she and
Dora walked together, their arms around each other's waists, up and down
in the garden, and back and forward in the orchard, until the Bannister
coachman went to sleep on his box.
During this long interview, the younger girl became impressed, not only
with the fact that Dora thought so well of the match, that, if she had
been looking for a wife for Ralph, she certainly would have selected Miss
Drane, but with the stability of Miss Bannister's affection for her,
which did not seem to be affected in the least by the changes which would
take place in the composition of the Cobhurst household.
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