Grosville

Grosville took and told me -- more at any rate than I knew before.

The Marriage of William Ashe Humphry Ward 1885

Lady Grosville approached her with a manner which still showed signs of the catastrophe before dinner.

The Marriage of William Ashe Humphry Ward 1885

She absolutely forgot the Grosville drawing-room, the staring Grosville girls, the other faces, astonished or severe, neutral or friendly.

The Marriage of William Ashe Humphry Ward 1885

Lady Grosville installed her on a sofa in the back drawing-room.

The Marriage of William Ashe Humphry Ward 1885

He would show Lady Grosville that she could not write to him, at any rate, in that strain, with impunity.

The Marriage of William Ashe Humphry Ward 1885

Lady Grosville, her profile, said by some to be like a horse and by others to resemble Savonarola, the cap of old Venice point that crowned her grizzled hair, her black velvet dress, and the long-fingered, ugly, yet distinguished hands which lay upon her lap, told significantly; especially when contrasted with the negligent ease and fresh-colored youth of her companion.

The Marriage of William Ashe Humphry Ward 1885

Lady Grosville sat stiffly on an early Victorian sofa, her spectacles on her nose, reading the _Times_ of the preceding day, or appearing to read it.

The Marriage of William Ashe Humphry Ward 1885

Lady Grosville thought of her own three daughters, plain and almost dowerless; and of that conceited young man, the heir, whom she could hardly persuade her husband to invite, once a year, for appearance sake.

The Marriage of William Ashe Humphry Ward 1885

Lady Grosville, however, as she met his bantering look, did not find herself at all inclined to think of Portsmouth.

The Marriage of William Ashe Humphry Ward 1885

Lady Grosville hesitated a moment, then stuck to her colors.

The Marriage of William Ashe Humphry Ward 1885