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was welling up inside her. She needed to appeal to her uncle on a practical level. “You can’t imagine what he is like. He is all ambition. From the moment he came down from Manchester to stay with us he has wanted to sidle his way into our family.”
    Her uncle looked unmoved. He put his palms together, placed the tips of his fingers under his chin, and spoke in a measured, even tone. “I have spoken to him myself. Ah—you are surprised? Yes, I asked him to call on me here. You see, despite what you may think, I have taken your future very much to heart. He spoke warmly of you, and I was reassured that he is a good man with appreciable prospects. Your father exposed you to a great deal of privilege and your life will—undoubtedly—have to change, but he will see that you are well looked after.”
    “And if I say no?”
    “Then you will live with your aunt in Manchester.”
    “You know very well I can’t!” Desperation crept into her voice. “I’ll have to work for my aunt for the rest of my life.”
    Her uncle looked at his hands and said nothing.
    “She is so different!” Frances stood up, biting her lip.
    “Not so different from you, Frances,” her uncle said carefully. “She is, after all, your father’s sister.”
    Frances caught sight of herself in the gold-crested mirror over the fireplace. She regretted standing up. Her uncle would take it as a sign of bad breeding. Beneath the eagle with his wings unfurling, the dark, convex glass threw a distorted impression back at her. Sparks of red hair swirled away from her in dense curls, and the narrow, angular lines of her face warped so that her mouth twisted with bitterness. Her Irish blood was too visible for her uncle’s liking, reminding him of everything her mother had given away, and she wondered whether he would be happy never to see her again. “So—you won’t have me?”
    “Good God, Frances! You are just like your father,” he said in exasperation, turning down the corners of his mouth in distaste.
    “Imagine Lucille living with her!” Frances raised her voice in accusation. “Do you think she could stand it?”
    He paused for a second. When he spoke, it was with a certain detachment, his voice freezing up at the edges. “I have been very careful to make sure that my daughters are provided for should anything happen to me. And I must remind you, though I struggle to see how you have forgotten, that neither Mrs. Arrow nor Dr. Matthews is any relation of mine. But, since you ask the question, I hope I have brought my girls up with grace and humility enough to accept what life throws at them. The last few weeks have been difficult for you, Frances, and of course I sympathize, but I would also encourage you to accept that life cannot always be easy.”
    Either he hadn’t quite understood the position she was in or he had chosen not to engage with it. She felt misunderstood. In his distrust of others he had drawn a circle around his family, and it was clear to her now that she had been excluded. With nothing left to lose, she approached that part of her which was most appalled. “And what about your loyalty towards my mother?”
    “Your mother thought your father’s family was good enough for her, and I’m sure if she were here today she would think they were quite good enough for her daughter. Your lack of resolve does her a disservice.”
    He sighed and stood up, signaling the end of the meeting. “I think you know your father left behind some considerable expenses. I wouldn’t want you to think we haven’t been generous. But this isn’t an issue of cost. I won’t say I approve of your frankness, but since you have been honest I will give you honesty in return. My wife and I have discussed your situation at length. We are not sure it is in your nature to play second fiddle, as it were, to anyone. You should ask yourself whether you would really be happy living here under the umbrella of your cousins. I am inclined to think you