de matters, already bad enough, very much worse. He had Kissed her
and he had Not Meant a Single Thing! There was Deep Disgrace for
Arethusa in this simple declaration.

Now Arethusa's rearing by Miss Eliza had been according to a few very
simple Rules for Conduct, which were nevertheless as ironbound and
unalterable as the most complicated laws that were ever framed. And one
of those Rules was that no really Nice girl would ever permit herself
to be kissed by a man unless she had every intention of marrying him
immediately or was already married to him. Miss Eliza had often said
that she would far rather see Arethusa dead and cold in her coffin than
to see her the sort of girl who thought so little of herself as to kiss
a man she was not to marry. This was really at the bottom of Arethusa's
expressed objection to being kissed by Timothy on those occasions when
such unexpected conduct of his had so displeased her. She had no
intention of ever marrying Timothy, whatever his own intentions might
have been; therefore, it seemed to Arethusa, according to this Miss
Elizian Guide for the Proper Behavior of Nice Young Ladies, it was
wrong for him to salute her in any such fashion, or for her to permit
him to. It is true that she had kissed Timothy herself under the stress
of such excitement as arrivals and departures, but such salutations
were really in a class quite apart, and of their own.

Into the Kiss she had given Mr. Bennet, Arethusa had put her
construction of the meaning of his unexpected action founded upon these
ideas of kisses, and her sentiments in regard to him, and all the
thoughts and dreams about him in which she had linked their two selves
together: only to find that Mr. Bennet himself had no such ideas of
kisses, and had evidently had no such thoughts and dreams. Is there any
one to wonder at her sudden feeling of humiliation? She rubbed fiercely
at her lips with the back of one hand, as if to remove the visible and
outward sign of her feeling of Disgrace. Then the color surged back
into her face; and once more, hot Rage mounted high, flashing its
signal from her stormy eyes and quick breathing.

"I hate you!" she exclaimed, suddenly, "Oh ... _I hate you_!"

"Please listen to me just a moment, Arethusa. I...."

"Don't say anything to me!" She stamped one foot with angry emphasis.
"I won't listen! I don't want to hear anything you have to say! And
Timothy was exactly right about you! Oh...!"

She flung