The message
he thought, must have some reference to Mrs. Clover's husband, whose
reappearance at any moment would have been no great surprise, even
after an absence of six years. Mr. Sparkes had a strong objection to
mysterious persons; he was all for peace and comfort in a familiar
routine, and for his own part had often hoped that the man Clover
was by this time dead and buried. Responding as soon as possible to
Mrs. Clover's summons, he found that she wished to speak to him
about his daughter. Mrs. Clover showed herself seriously disturbed
by Polly's recent behaviour; she told of the newly-acquired
jewellery, of the dresses in which Miss Sparkes went "flaunting,"
of the girl's scornful refusal to answer natural inquiries.
"The long and the short of it is, Ebenezer, you ought to see her,
and find out what's going on. There may be nothing wrong, and I
don't say there is; but that watch and chain of hers wasn't bought
under twenty pounds--that I'll answer for, and it's a very queer
thing, to say the least of it. What business was it of mine.
Pages:
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82