The mother had fits of jealousy at the exclusive preference, and now
and then would rail at Grisell for cosseting the bairn and keeping
him a helpless baby; or at Bernard for leaving his mother for this
ill-favoured, useless sister, and would even snatch away the boy, and
declare that she wanted no one to deal with him save herself; but
Bernard had a will of his own, and screamed for his Grisly, throwing
himself about in such a manner that Lady Whitburn was forced to
submit, and quite to the alarm of her daughter, on one of these
occasions she actually burst into a flood of tears, sobbing loud and
without restraint. Indeed, though she hotly declared that she ailed
nothing, there was a lassitude about her that made it a relief to
have the care of Bernard taken off her hands; and the Baron's
grumbling at disturbed nights made the removal of Bernard's bed to
his sister's room generally acceptable.
Once, when Grisell was found to have taught both him and Thora the
English version of the Lord's Prayer and Creed, and moreover to be
telling him the story of the Gospel, there came, no one knew from
where, an accusation which made her father tramp up and say, "Mark
you, wench, I'll have no Lollards here."
"Lollards, sir; I never saw a Lollard!" said Grisell trembling.
"Where, then, didst learn all this, making holy things common?"
"We all learnt it at Wilton, sir, from the reverend mothers and the
holy father.
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