Like all persons who, in conversation, do not
so much express the results of previous conviction obtained in
silence as the inspiration of the moment, Madge dazzled everybody by
a brilliancy which would have been impossible if she had communicated
that which had been slowly acquired, but what she left with those who
listened to her, did not always seem, on reflection, to be so much as
it appeared to be while she was talking. Still she was very
charming, and it must be confessed that sometimes her spontaneity was
truer than the limitations of speech more carefully weighed.
'What makes you stay in Fenmarket, Mrs Hopgood? How I wish you would
come to London!'
'I do not wish to leave it now; I have become attached to it; I have
very few friends in London, and lastly, perhaps the most convincing
reason, I could not afford it. Rent and living are cheaper here than
in town.'
'Would you not like to live in London, Miss Hopgood?'
Clara hesitated for a few seconds.
'I am not sure--certainly not by myself. I was in London once for
six months as a governess in a very pleasant family, where I saw much
society; but I was glad to return to Fenmarket.'
'To the scenery round Fenmarket,' interrupted Madge; 'it is so
romantic, so mountainous, so interesting in every way.'
'I was thinking of people, strange as it may appear. In London
nobody really cares for anybody, at least, not in the sense in which
I should use the words.
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