Next to him she saw Marianne, then Reginald; on the
other side Alethea and William. A little tranquillised by seeing
that every one was not lost, she had courage to eat some cold
chicken, to talk to Frank about the sugar temple, and to make an
inventory in her mind of the smartest bonnets for Ada's benefit. She
was rather unhappy at not having found out when grace was said before
dinner, and she made Eleanor promise to tell her in time to stand up
after dinner. She could not, however, hear much, though warned in
time, and by this time more at ease and rather enjoying herself than
otherwise. Now Eleanor told her to listen, for Cousin Rotherwood was
going to speak. She listened, but knew not what was said, until Mr.
Hawkesworth told her it was Church and Queen. What Church and Queen
had to do with Cousin Rotherwood's birthday she could not imagine,
and she laid it up in her mind to ask Claude. The next time she was
told to listen she managed to hear more. By the help of Eleanor's
directions, she found out the speaker, an aged farmer, in a drab
greatcoat, his head bald, excepting a little silky white hair, which
fell over the collar of his coat.
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