To his surprise, Allen accepted the situation, and to his still
greater surprise, endured it, walking to Kensington every day by
eleven o'clock, and coming home whenever he was released, at an hour
varying from three to eleven, according to my Lady's will. He became
attached to the old man, pitied him, and did his best to satisfy his
many caprices and to deal with his infirmities of brain and memory;
but my Lady certainly was his bete noire, though she behaved a good
deal better to him after she had seen him picked up in the park by
Lady Fordham's carriage. However, he made light of all he underwent
from her, and did not break down even when it was known that though
poor George Gould had died at New York, his widow showed no intention
of coming home, and wrote confidently to her step-daughters of Elvira
marrying her brother Gilbert. She was of age now, there was nothing
to prevent her, and they seemed to be only waiting for a decent
interval after her uncle's death. Allen, a couple of years ago,
would have made his mother and all the family as wretched as he
could, and would have dropped all semblance of occupation but
smoking. Now Lady Grose would not let him smoke, and Sir Samuel
required him to be entertaining; but the continual worry he was
bearing was making him look so ill that his mother was very anxious
about him.
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