She was
uninfected by Esther's deceit, though she never suspected any want of
truth; her singleness of mind was a shield from all evil; she knew
she was no favourite in the nursery, but she never expected to be
liked as much as Ada, her pride and glory. In the meantime Emily
went on contriving opportunities and excuses for spending her time at
Devereux Castle, letting everything fall into Lily's hands,
everything that she had so eagerly undertaken little more than a year
ago. And now all was confusion; the excellent order in which Eleanor
had left the household affairs was quite destroyed. Attention to the
storeroom was one of the ways in which Lilias thought that she could
best follow the advice of Mr. Devereux, since Eleanor had always
taught that great exactness in this point was most necessary. Great
disorder now, however, prevailed there, and she found that her only
chance of rectifying it was to measure everything she found there,
and to beg Emily to allow her to keep the key; for, when several
persons went to the storeroom, no one ever knew what was given out,
and she was sure that the sweet things diminished much faster than
they ought to do; but her sister treated the proposal as an attempt
to deprive her of her dignity, and she was silenced.
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