It was no business of Jessie's to take letters into the drawing-room;
she would have deposited any other letter on the hall table; but she
brought this one in, and, standing at the door, exclaimed, "Here a
letter fr' Huntercombe!"
Richard Bassett, Mrs. Bassett, and Ruperta, all turned upon her with
one accord.
"From where?"
"Fr' Huntercombe itsel'. Et isna for you, nor for you, missy. Et's for
the mesterress."
She marched proudly up to Mrs. Bassett and laid the letter down on the
table; then drew back a step or two, and, being Scotch, coolly waited
to hear the contents. Richard Basset, being English, told her she need
not stay.
Mrs. Bassett cast a bewildered look at her husband and daughter, then
opened the letter quietly; read it quietly; and, having read it, took
out her handkerchief and began to cry quietly.
Ruperta cried, "Oh, mamma!" and in a moment had one long arm round her
mother's neck, while the other hand seized the letter, and she read it
aloud, cheek to cheek; but, before she got to an end, her mother's
tears infected her, and she must whimper too.
"Here are a couple of geese," said Richard Bassett. "Can't you write a
civil reply to a civil letter without sniveling? I'll answer the letter
for you."
"No!" said Mrs. Bassett.
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