' Of course she asked what I
meant by that, and I let her know. 'It seems to me he drags you about
the ship too much for a girl in your position. He has the air of not
remembering that you belong to some one else. There's a want of taste
and even a want of respect in it.' That brought on an outbreak: she
became very violent."
"Do you mean indignant?"
"Yes, indignant, and above all flustered and excited--at my presuming to
suppose her relations with my son not the very simplest in the world. I
might scold him as much as I liked--that was between ourselves; but she
didn't see why I should mention such matters to herself. Did I think she
allowed him to treat her with disrespect? That idea wasn't much of a
compliment to either of them! He had treated her better and been kinder
to her than most other people--there were very few on the ship who hadn't
been insulting. She should be glad enough when she got off it, to her
own people, to some one whom nobody would have a right to speak of. What
was there in her position that wasn't perfectly natural? what was the
idea of making a fuss about her position? Did I mean that she took it
too easily--that she didn't think as much as she ought about Mr.
Porterfield? Didn't I believe she was attached to him--didn't I believe
she was just counting the hours till she saw him? That would be the
happiest moment of her life.
Pages:
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