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248 her annual visit, or render it very unpleasant to her. The great matter of all, however, was that of spiriting up the earl's resolution to curtail her income, and this, as we have seen, she had, at length, effected; less, however, from her influence than Lady Anne's own folly. Though the earl did not suspect his lady of being the adept she was, yet he had long known she disliked his sister, which he accounted for from the circumstance of Lady Anne's superior personal attraction; the countess, though with a pretty face and at least ten years younger, cutting comparatively no figure when placed beside the tall and graceful form of Lady Anne, whose beautiful bust and slender waist never failed to attract admiration. From the time the possibility of her niece writing to her husband took possession of Lady Rotheles's mind, she had really never known a happy hour when awake, and her dread of post-time amounted to a perfect fever, as it was that of breakfast, when she could not take possession of the letters without showing her anxiety. So perfectly easy was Lord Rotheles on the subject, that she might have examined all and secreted half without inquiry on his part; but the mind makes its own scourges, and poor Georgiana could not cast a look towards either of them, when taking off the envelopes, without being suspected of some way playing into her uncle's hands, for it was plain that every day of his life she became of more value to him; for she not only read his letters, but generally wrote the answers.