She answered all the notes, and wrote all the letters that
did not necessarily fall on her husband and his mother; and her
unobtrusive helpfulness made her a daughter indeed.
All the young men went to the funeral; but Mrs. Brownlow felt that it
was a time for friends to hold back till they were needed, when
relations had retreated; so she only sent Babie, whom Mrs. Evelyn and
Sydney could not spare, and she followed after three weeks, when
Allen was released from his unwelcome work.
She found Mrs. Evelyn feeling it much more difficult to keep up than
it had been at first, now that she sorely missed the occupation of
her life. For full twenty years she had had an invalid on her mind,
and Cecil's marriage had made further changes in her life. It was
not the fault of the young couple. They did not love their new
honours at all. Apart from their affection, Cecil hated trouble and
responsibility, and could not bear to shake himself out of his
groove, and Esther was frightened at the charge of a large household.
Their little home was still a small paradise to them, and they
implored their mother to allow things to go on as they were, and
Cecil continue in the Guards, while she reigned as before at Fordham;
letting the Cavendish Square house, which Essie viewed with a certain
nervous horror.
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