 that otherwise Mr. Farquhar
would interfere in any way. She wished evidently to owe nothing to him. She had
begun by leaving the room when he came in, after the conversation she had had
with her father; but at Mr. Bradshaw's first expression of his wish that she
should remain, she remained - silent, indifferent, inattentive to all that was
going on; at least there was this appearance of inattention. She would work away
at her sewing as if she were to earn her livelihood by it; the light was gone
out of her eyes as she lifted them up heavily before replying to any question,
and the eyelids were often swollen with crying.
    But in all this there was no positive fault. Mr. Bradshaw could not have
told her not to do this, or to do that, without her doing it; for she had become
much more docile of late.
    It was a wonderful proof of the influence Ruth had gained in the family,
that Mr. Bradshaw, after much deliberation, congratulated himself on the wise
determination he had made of requesting her to speak to Jemima, and find out
what feeling was at the bottom of all this change in her ways of going on.
    He rang the bell.
    »Is Mrs. Denbigh here?« he inquired of the servant who answered it.
    »Yes, sir; she has just come.«
    »Beg her to come to me in this room as soon as she can leave the young
ladies.«
    Ruth came.
    »Sit down, Mrs. Denbigh; sit down. I want to have a little conversation with
you; not about your pupils; they are going on well under your care, I am sure;
and I often congratulate myself on the choice I made - I assure you I do. But
now I want to speak to you about Jemima. She is very fond of you, and perhaps
you could take an opportunity of observing to her - in short, of saying to her,
that she is behaving very foolishly - in fact, disgusting Mr. Farquhar (who was,
I know, inclined to like her) by the sullen, sulky way she behaves in, when he
is by.«
    He paused for the ready acquiescence he expected. But Ruth did not quite
comprehend what was required of her, and disliked the glimpse she had gained of
the task very much.
    »I hardly understand, sir. You are displeased with Miss Bradshaw's manners
to Mr. Farquhar.«
    »Well, well! not quite that; I am displeased with her manners - they
