"My dear Mother I am very sorry to tell you that it will not be in our power to keep our promise of spending our Christmas with you; and we are prevented that happiness by a circumstance which is not likely to make us any amends. Lady Susan in a letter to her brother-inlaw has declared her intention of visiting us almost immediately; and as such a visit is in all probability merely an affair of convenience it is impossible to conjecture its length. I was by no means prepared for such an event nor can I now account for her ladyship's conduct; Langford appeared so exactly the place for her in every respect as well from the elegant and expensive style of living there as from her particular attachment to Mr. Mainwaring that I was very far from expecting so speedy a distinction though I always imagined from her increasing friendship for us since her husband's death that we should at some future period be obliged to receive her."