Papa is
his guardian. Aunt Rotherwood never would have parted with him.'
'He is the only son,' interposed Emily.
'Uncle Rotherwood put him quite in papa's power; Aunt Rotherwood
wanted to keep him at home with a tutor, and what she would have made
of him I cannot think,' said Lily; and regardless of Emily's warning
frowns, and Alethea's attempt to change the subject, she went on:
'When he was quite a child he used to seem a realisation of all the
naughty Dicks and Toms in story-books. Miss Middleton had a perfect
horror of his coming here, for he would mind no one, and played
tricks and drew Claude into mischief; but he is quite altered since
papa had the management of him--Oh! such talks as papa has had with
Aunt Rotherwood--do you know, papa says no one knows what it is to
lose a father but those who have the care of his children, and Aunt
Rotherwood is so provoking.'
Here Alethea determined to put an end to this oration, and to Emily's
great relief, she cut short the detail of Lady Rotherwood's offences
by saying, 'Do you think Faith Longley likely to suit us, if we took
her to help the housemaid?'
'Are you thinking of taking her?' cried Lily.
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