I don’t know exactly what a “proper place” constitutes⁠—it sounds chilly and unpleasant⁠—but I know that Miss Russell goes about with pinched lips, and what I can only describe as an acid smile, and that she professes the utmost sympathy for “poor Mrs. Ackroyd⁠—dependent on the charity of her husband’s brother. The bread of charity is so bitter, is it not? I should be quite miserable if I did not work for my living.”

I don’t know what Mrs. Cecil Ackroyd thought of the Ferrars affair when it came on the tapis. It was clearly to her advantage that Ackroyd should remain unmarried. She was always very charming⁠—not to say gushing⁠—to Mrs. Ferrars when they met. Caroline says that proves less than nothing.