Lady Isabella, age 35, has lived with Mrs Spencer, age 45, for seven years. They are "two friends so intimately allied that. . .they were more like husband and wife than anything else." Mrs Spencer is clearly the husband, taking care of all the business and dedicated to keeping Lady Isabella in luxury and comfort. However Lady Isabella shows signs of being restive when an old suitor Colonel Brentford returns to the neighbourhood. After Mrs Spencer quietly blocks their opportunity to meet, Lady Isabella turns to her discreet friend Mrs Mulgrave for help.
This story is part of the delightful series Neighbours on the Green, which takes place in the fictional village of Dinglefield Green. (See the link below for more information.)
British publishing information
Periodical: Cornhill Magazine Mar-Apr 1871
First edition: MacMillan and Co (collected in Neighbours on the Green) 1889
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