Page:Ethel Churchill 2.pdf/179

Rh Henrietta looked at him with undisguised astonishment. "Pray, madam," asked he, "for whom are you in mourning?" The tears, with which Henrietta had long been struggling, could be checked no longer, and her voice faltered, as she answered, "For Mrs. Courtenaye: you know she was my kind, my dear friend!" "I know," returned her husband, "that she was Lord Norbourne's daughter. Are you aware that I have, for a week past, been in the opposition? But I own it is too much to expect that women should understand these matters." "But what," asked Lady Marchmont, "has that to do with my wearing black?" "I thought," replied his lordship, " that my reasons would be beyond your comprehension; I will, however, endeavour to adapt them to your understanding. Your wearing mourning for Lord Norbourne's daughter, is an external evidence of alliance between us; now, I am completely opposed to him. I hold his