"
"I'll try--you blessed innocent! You've torn me into rags and tatters,
and you did it adorably. What I said was idle, half-witted, gossiping
nonsense. So forget every atom of it as soon as you can, my dear, and
let me prove that I'm not an utter idiot, if _I_ can."
"That will be delightful," said Eileen with a demure smile; and Rosamund
laughed, too, with full-hearted laughter; for trouble sat very lightly
on her perfect shoulders in the noontide of her strength and youth. Sin
and repentance were rapid matters with Rosamund; cause, effect, and
remorse a quick sequence to be quickly reckoned up, checked off, and
cancelled; and the next blank page turned over to be ruled and filled
with the next impeachment.
There was, in her, more of mischief than of real malice; and if she did
pinch people to see them wiggle it was partly because she supposed that
the pain would be as momentary as the pinch; for nothing lasted with
her, not even the wiggle. So why should the pain produced by a furtive
tweak interfere with the amusement she experienced in the victim's jump?
But what had often saved her from a social lynching was her ability to
laugh at her own discomfiture, and her unfeigned liking and respect for
the turning worm.
Pages:
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260