He had missed her more than
he would have dreamed possible.
Lydia had missed her too; he was sure of that. She had been peculiarly
short of temper lately. Not that he ever took much notice; he was too
used to her tantrums for that. But it certainly was more comfortable when
Dinah was at home to bear the brunt of them. Yes, on the whole he was
quite pleased that the little girl was coming back. It would make a
difference to him in many ways.
He wondered what time she would arrive. He had known, but he had
forgotten. He believed it was to be some time in the evening. Her grand
friends had arranged to stay at Great Mallowes, three miles, away for the
night, and one of them--the maid probably--was to bring Dinah home. He
had smiled over this arrangement, and Lydia had openly scoffed at it. As
if a girl of Dinah's age were not capable of travelling alone! But then
of course she had been ill, very ill according to all accounts; and it
was quite decent of them to bestow so much care upon her.
He fell to wondering if the child had got spoilt at all during her long
absence from home and the harsh discipline thereof. If so, there was a
hard time before her; for Lydia was never one to stand any nonsense. She
had always been hard on her first-born, unreasonably hard, he sometimes
thought; though it was not his business to interfere. The task of
chastising the daughter of the family was surely the mother's exclusive
prerogative; and certainly Lydia had carried it out very thoroughly.
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