There came a double knock at the house-door, but it did not attract
her attention; a knock at her own room, and only when some one
entered was she recalled to the present. It was Grace again; her
lodging was elsewhere, and this late visit could have but one
motive.
They stood face to face. The elder woman was so incensed that her
lips moved fruitlessly, like those of a paralytic.
'I suppose you're going to make a scene,' Clara addressed her.
'Please remember how late it is, and don't let all the house hear
you.'
'You mean to tell me you accepted that offer of Peel's--without
saying a word--without as much as telling him that he ought to
speak to me first?'
'Certainly I did. I've waited long enough; I'm not going to beat
about the bush when my chance comes.'
'And you called yourself my friend?'
'I'm nobody's friend but my own in an affair of this kind. If you'd
been in my place you'd have done just the same.'
'I wouldn't! I _couldn't_ have been such a mean creature! Every man
and woman in the company'll cry shame on you.'
'Don't deafen me with your nonsense! If you played the part badly, I
suppose some one else must take it.
Pages:
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413