Never Too Late (Paperback, 1st ed)

Whether through inattention or coincidence an imbalance of marriageable young continues. Six Leslie and Graham young men remain unattached, while Edith (disqualified as sister or cousin) continues to enjoy the attentions of three other eligibles. However, life proceeds as Mr and Mrs Carter (Lord Crosse's daughter) rent the Halliday's Old Manor House and reintroduce the Mixo-Lydians in the person of the maid, Dumka. Toleration survives lurid harangues on the perfidy of the Slavo-Lydians but not an uprising in the kitchen. Lady Graham mounts a repeat performance of 'intromission' as she and Vicar Choyce settle the matter of the Manor House pew. Squire Halliday's last days and funeral are poignantly depicted along with contemporary worries about death duties and break-up of the large estates. Lord Crosse more or less proposes to Mrs Morland, who, having been happily widowed for many years, signals her refusal. But, not to worry, Miss Merriman, factotum to the Pomfrets and Leslies, is happy to accept the proposal of Vicar Choyce, observing, 'service is not an inheritance'.