'
'At work at your finery instead of coming out! You must be altered,
indeed, Lily.'
'It is not for myself,' said Lily, 'but I promised Emily she should
have it ready to wear to-morrow.'
'Emily, oh? So she is making a slave of you?'
'No, no, it was a voluntary promise. She does not care about it,
only she would be disappointed, and I have promised.'
'I hate promises!' said Claude. 'Well, what must be, must be, so I
will resign myself to this promise of yours, only do not make such
another. Well, but that was not all; you were not crying about that
fine green thing, were you?'
'Oh, no!' said Lily, smiling, as now she could smile again.
'What then? I will know, Lily.'
'I was only vexed at something about the children.'
'Then what was it?'
'It was only that Ada was idle at her lessons; I told her to learn a
verb as a punishment, she went to Emily, and, somehow or other, Emily
did not find out the exact facts, excused her, and took her to
Raynham. I was vexed, because I am sure it does Ada harm, and Emily
did not understand what I said afterwards; I am sure she thought me
unjust.'
'How came she not to be present?'
'Emily does not often sit in the schoolroom in the morning, since she
has been about that large drawing.
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