So she
didn't say, "Dear me, Adeline, what humbug! you know you hate Verena and
would be very glad if she were drowned!" She only said, "Well, I see;
but it's very roundabout." What she did see was that Mrs. Luna was eager
to help her to stop off Basil Ransom from "making head," as the phrase
was; and the fact that her motive was spite, and not tenderness for the
Bostonians, would not make her assistance less welcome if the danger
were real. She herself had a nervous dread, but she had that about
everything; still, Adeline had perhaps seen something, and what in the
world did she mean by her reference to Verena's having had secret
meetings? When pressed on this point, Mrs. Luna could only say that she
didn't pretend to give definite information, and she wasn't a spy
anyway, but that the night before he had positively flaunted in her face
his admiration for the girl, his enthusiasm for her way of standing up
there. Of course he hated her ideas, but he was quite conceited enough
to think she would give them up. Perhaps it was all directed at
_her_--as if she cared! It would depend a good deal on the girl herself;
certainly, if there was any likelihood of Verena's being affected, she
should advise Olive to look out. She knew best what to do; it was only
Adeline's duty to give her the benefit of her own impression, whether
she was thanked for it or not. She only wished to put her on her guard,
and it was just like Olive to receive such information so coldly; she
was the most disappointing woman she knew.
Pages:
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