A Terrible Wrong by Ada Brisson Author:Mary Elizabeth Braddon General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1867 Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million book... more »s for free. Excerpt: CHAPTER III. COMMON PLACE EXCEEDINGLY! If Miss Michael did funny things and soliloquised in a mysterious manner before her looking glass -- if she stared and clenched her hand like a veritable heroine in the solitude of the sea beach, -- she had at least sense enough to behave like a common-place sort of person in Madame's company, and in that of her friends. She went down to Mrs. Yeovil's boudoirand began sewing away at an abominable strip of embroidery with the most industrious grace in the world. And when the Hon. Georgina made her appearance, Miss Michael courteously laid aside the work, and at her patroness' request, came to the fireside, to discuss fashions and dress, and receive instructions as to what duties would be required of her in exchange for board, lodging, and £75 a year. And her heart beat on very quietly, and her circulation was by no means quickened, as she listened and found that David Paul's definition of her engagement was correct. She had not to attend to my lady's bodily wants certainly; only to minister to my lady's whims, to be numbered among those many blessings which my lady kissed or anethematised, as it pleasured her fancy. Besides this, she had some tangible duties to perform : she was to keep Madame's correspondence ; she was to learn all the accompaniments to Madame's songs (Georgina's musical talents being strictly vocal); she was to help Madam to invent fashionable dresses; she was to receive those visitors whom Madam did not or would not like to receive always herself; in fact, she was to do for Georgina what Georgina was too idle, or too stupid, or too grand to...« less