30 January

Whole household in mourning today, as the first Mary has died in childbed. Of course, we are supposed to forget that she ever existed, but she really was quite a sweet child. We all found ourselves back at the rectory despite our best intentions. Meals entirely disrupted. Miss Prism seized the opportunity to point out that had these girls had any sense at all, they would not have been in this position, and our meals would remain on time! She is fond of pointing out the fact that the Catholics as a sect seem to have no sense of moral responsibility or thrift at all.