chances of war fallen into their hands and been newly furnished, and
newly decorated, and newly gardened, and newly greenhoused and
hot-watered by them, many of the county people had turned up their noses
at them. Dear old Lady Lufton had done so, and had been greatly
grieved--saying nothing, however, of her grief, when her son and
daughter-in-law had broken away from her, and submitted themselves to
the blandishments of the doctor's wife. And the Grantlys had stood
aloof, partly influenced, no doubt, by their dear and intimate old
friend Miss Monica Thorne of Ullathorne, a lady of the very old school,
who, though good as gold and kind as charity, could not endure that an
interloping Mrs Thorne, who never had a grandfather, should come to
honour and glory in the county, simply because of her riches. Miss
Monica Thorne stood out, but Mrs Grantly gave way, and having once found
that Dr Thorne, and Mrs Thorne, and Emily Dunstable, and Chaldicote
House together, were very charming. And the major had been once there
with her, and had made himself very pleasant, and there certainly had
been some little passage of incipient love between him and Miss
Dunstable, as to which Mrs Thorne, who managed everything, seemed to be
well pleased. This had been after the first mention made by Mrs Grantly
to her son of Emily Dunstable's name, but before she had heard any
faintest whispers of his fancy for Grace Crawley; and she had therefore
been justified in hoping--almost in expecting, that Emily Dunstable
would be her daughter-in-law, and was therefore the more aggrieved when
this terrible Crawley peril first opened itself before her eyes.



CHAPTER III

THE ARCHDEACON'S THREAT