She watched her son as he ate

A hastily prepared supper was brought in, and Clare made further exposition of his plans. His mother's disappointment at not seeing the bride still remained with her. Clare's late enthusiasm for Tess had infected her through her maternal sympathies, till she had almost fancied that a good thing could come out of Nazareth - a charming woman out of Talbothays Dairy. She watched her son as he ate. `Cannot you describe her? I am sure she is very pretty, Angel.' `Of that there can be no question!' he said, with a zest which covered its bitterness. `And that she is pure and virtuous goes without question?' `Pure and virtuous, of course, she is.' `I can see her quite distinctly. You said the other day that she was fine in figure; roundly built; had deep red lips like Cupid's bow; dark eyelashes and brows, an immense rope of hair like a ship's cable; and large eyes violety-bluey-blackish.' `I did, mother.' `I quite see her. And living in such seclusion she naturally had scarce ever seen any young man from the world without till she saw you. `Scarcely.' `You were her first love?' `Of course.' `There are worse wives than these simple, rosy-mouthed, robust girls of the farm. Certainly I could have wished - well, since my son is to be an agriculturist, it is perhaps but proper that his wife should have been accustomed to an outdoor life.' His father was less inquisitive; but when the time came for the chapter from the Bible which was always read before evening prayers, the Vicar observed to Mrs Clare-- `I think, since Angel has come, that it will be more appropriate to read the thirty-first of Proverbs than the chapter which we should have had in the usual course of our reading?'