The Pelicans by E.M. Delafield

Shrewd as Mrs. Tregaskis was, it was not until after Nina had departed, serene and triumphant, that she suddenly exclaimed, pondering over the ingenuous epistle of Mrs. Mulholland:

"It's all very well, but that woman never answered one word about looking after Frances. She wrote about everything else under the sun, but not a single definite assurance in the whole caboodle. What an unpractical lot these holy females are! It's enough to drive a plain common-sense Cornish body to distraction."