Then Rhoda showed her she was not fit to govern anything,
and drove her into service again; and in that condition, having no more
cares than a child, and plenty of work to do, and many a present from
Rhoda, she had been happy.
But Rhoda, though she forgave blunders, incapacity for business, and
waste of money, had always told her plainly there was one thing she
never would forgive.
Rhoda Marsh had become a good Christian in every respect but one. The
male rake reformed is rather tolerant; but the female rake reformed is,
as a rule, bitterly intolerant of female frailty; and Rhoda carried
this female characteristic to an extreme both in word and in deed. They
were only half-sisters, after all; and Mary knew that she would be cast
off forever if she deviated from virtue so far as to be found out.
Besides the general warning, there had been a special one. When she
read Mary's first letter from Huntercombe Hall Rhoda was rather taken
aback at first; but, on reflection, she wrote to Mary, saying she could
stay there on two conditions: she must be discreet, and never mention
her sister Rhoda in the house, and she must not be tempted to renew her
acquaintance with Richard Bassett. "Mind," said she, "if ever you speak
to that villain I shall hear of it, and I shall never notice you
again.
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