"
Mrs. Bingham, although she was accustomed to tea-table disputes, and
even enjoyed them, was a little afraid of Mrs. Sweeting's tongue, and
thought it politic to interfere.
"I agree with you entirely, Mrs. Sweeting, about the inferiority of Mrs.
Swanley to this newcomer, but we must consider Miss Tarrant's position
in the parish and her responsibilities. She is no doubt right from her
point of view."
So the conversation ended, but Mrs. Fairfax's biography, which was to be
published under authority in Langborough, was now rounded off and
complete. She was a Parisian, father and mother unknown, was found in
Paris in 1815 by Captain Fairfax, who, by her intrigues and threats of
exposure, was forced into a marriage with her. A few years afterwards
he had grounds for a divorce, but not wishing a scandal, consented to a
compromise and voluntary separation. He left one child in her custody,
as it showed signs of resemblance to its mother, to whom he gave a small
monthly allowance. She had been apprenticed as a dressmaker in Paris,
had returned thither in order to master her trade, and then came back to
England.
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