Sweet Content

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Molesworth Mrs.. Sweet Content

Chapter One. An “Only” Baby

Chapter Two. Papa’s Bit of News

Chapter Three. The Yew Trees

Chapter Four. All My Own Fault

Chapter Five. A Large Family

Chapter Six. New Ideas

Chapter Seven. A Trio of Friends

Chapter Eight. Found Wanting

Chapter Nine. The Strange Old Woman

Chapter Ten. The Look on Papa’s Face

Chapter Eleven. Nothing Venture, Nothing Win

Chapter Twelve. True Hearts

Отрывок из книги

Yes, it was papa. I opened the front-door a tiny bit just to make sure. He had already sprung out of the dog-cart, throwing the reins to the groom, who went round by a back way to the stables. As papa came close to the door he caught sight of me.

“Connie!” he exclaimed; “my child, keep out of the draught. Well, dear,” when he had come in and was standing by me in the hall, where a bright little fire was burning – we have such a nice hall in our house, old-fashioned and square, you know, with a fireplace – “well, dear, how are you? And what have you been doing with yourself this dull day?”

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“Not at all rich,” papa replied promptly. “I want to spare them all the expense I can. Captain Whyte is to pay a very fair rent for the Yew Trees – the same that old Mrs Nesbitt paid. I would have taken less had he pressed it, but he did not. He is very gentlemanlike and liberal – it is curious how you can see the liberal spirit even when people are poor – so I want to meet him half-way. I shall have his final decision to-morrow morning, and if it is closing with the thing, I should like you to drive over with me to the Yew Trees and have a look round. There are some things it is only fair we should do, and as it is your house, Rose, you have a voice in it.”

The Yew Trees had been mamma’s own home as a girl. Her father had been the Elmwood doctor before papa, and this house was left to her as she was older than her sister. Yet she had never lived there since her parents’ death; it was larger than we required, and mamma fancied it was lonely.

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