FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71  
72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   >>   >|  
ccepted him as a brother-in-law, for the harm such a relation could do one was limited and definite; whereas in his general capacity of being at large in her life the ability of the young Mississippian to injure her seemed somehow immense. "I wrote to him--that time--for a perfectly definite reason," she said. "I thought mother would have liked us to know him. But it was a mistake." "How do you know it was a mistake? Mother would have liked him, I daresay." "I mean my acting as I did; it was a theory of duty which I allowed to press me too much. I always do. Duty should be obvious; one shouldn't hunt round for it." "Was it very obvious when it brought you on here?" asked Mrs. Luna, who was distinctly out of humour. Olive looked for a moment at the toe of her shoe. "I had an idea that you would have married him by this time," she presently remarked. "Marry him yourself, my dear! What put such an idea into your head?" "You wrote to me at first so much about him. You told me he was tremendously attentive, and that you liked him." "His state of mind is one thing and mine is another. How can I marry every man that hangs about me--that dogs my footsteps? I might as well become a Mormon at once!" Mrs. Luna delivered herself of this argument with a certain charitable air, as if her sister could not be expected to understand such a situation by her own light. Olive waived the discussion, and simply said: "I took for granted _you_ had got him the invitation." "I, my dear? That would be quite at variance with my attitude of discouragement." "Then she simply sent it herself." "Whom do you mean by 'she'?" "Mrs. Burrage, of course." "I thought that you might mean Verena," said Mrs. Luna casually. "Verena--to him? Why in the world----?" And Olive gave the cold glare with which her sister was familiar. "Why in the world not--since she knows him?" "She had seen him twice in her life before last night, when she met him for the third time and spoke to him." "Did she tell you that?" "She tells me everything." "Are you very sure?" "Adeline Luna, what _do_ you mean?" Miss Chancellor murmured. "Are you very sure that last night was only the third time?" Mrs. Luna went on. Olive threw back her head and swept her sister from her bonnet to her lowest flounce. "You have no right to hint at such a thing as that unless you know!" "Oh, I know--I know, at any rate, more than you do!" And then Mrs.
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71  
72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
sister
 

Verena

 

obvious

 

definite

 

thought

 
simply
 
mistake
 

charitable

 
granted
 

delivered


argument

 

expected

 
situation
 

invitation

 
waived
 

variance

 
understand
 
discouragement
 

attitude

 

discussion


Chancellor

 

murmured

 

Adeline

 

flounce

 

lowest

 

bonnet

 

familiar

 

casually

 

Burrage

 

acting


theory

 
daresay
 

Mother

 

mother

 

allowed

 
shouldn
 

reason

 
perfectly
 

limited

 
general

relation
 

ccepted

 
brother
 
capacity
 

immense

 

injure

 
Mississippian
 

ability

 
brought
 

attentive