Herriton's kindness
to prevent her. A house was finally taken for her at
Sawston, and there for three years she lived with Irma,
continually subject to the refining influences of her late
husband's family.
During one of her rare Yorkshire visits trouble began
again. Lilia confided to a friend that she liked a Mr.
Kingcroft extremely, but that she was not exactly engaged to
him. The news came round to Mrs. Herriton, who at once
wrote, begging for information, and pointing out that Lilia
must either be engaged or not, since no intermediate state
existed. It was a good letter, and flurried Lilia
extremely. She left Mr. Kingcroft without even the pressure
of a rescue-party. She cried a great deal on her return to
Sawston, and said she was very sorry. Mrs. Herriton took
the opportunity of speaking more seriously about the duties
of widowhood and motherhood than she had ever done before.
But somehow things never went easily after. Lilia would not
settle down in her place among Sawston matrons. She was a
bad housekeeper, always in the throes of some domestic
crisis, which Mrs. Herriton, who kept her servants for
years, had to step across and adjust. She let Irma stop
away from school for insufficient reasons, and she allowed
her to wear rings. She learnt to bicycle, for the purpose
of waking the place up, and coasted down the High Street one
Sunday evening, falling off at the turn by the church. If
she had not been a relative, it would have been
entertaining.
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