Part 24 (1/2)
Principle above cleverness----”
The vicar laughed good-naturedly
”Why! what a dragon of virtue----”
He got no farther Mrs Peters suddenly assuan to fumble for excuses
CHAPTER XIX
THE PLOT AGAIN THICKENS
At the end of threea little ill-used
There was still no word froan to look like a perly, or (with an envious inflection) a soft job Lionel had a roof above him, luxurious food, money in his pocket and a pretty hostess: he would be a churl who gru who did not knohen he ell off
But nevertheless he gruhtful, no doubt, and he could thoroughly enjoy so pleasant a pastie his palate for frivolity, and not a single olive had been sent hiht have written, surely: not necessarily a letter, but a note, a telegram, even a picture post-card was not tooto do her a good turn
She ; but even a dog demands an occasional pat
Yes, Beatrice had been a little inconsiderate When they ain he would subtly convey that she had not been quite so perfect in her handling of the case as she ht have been Not blame--oh, no! that would be too severe But a touch of respectful and adoring frigidity--a hint of polite and ardent disappointment, that was the note to be struck It would add to the subsequent reconciliation, or rather readjustne, in short, followed by liquor brandy
Finally (perhapswho knows?) a e, king's peg
But that could only be drunk post-mortem Poor, dear old Lukos
Well, for the present hewill have its pat: if the ive it, another ers piteously hard by a stranger? Again, why blaer, moved doubtless by a kindly and an unselfish i daily e with the pat? Lionel was obeying the orders of Beatrice, to watch and do the bidding of his hostess; he could not be expected to daraciousness, check her enthusiasht have sealed the source of some important information He must endure the pat, suffer it, per to her in the garden one afternoon They had begun the conversation on some trivial theme, soon tossed aside for a subject of substance It was not long before they were on the tiht, it appeared, was a suffragette--not militant, certainly, but convinced and ardent She expressed surprise that Lionel did not take similar views ”For you,” she said sweetly, ”are a reasonable fair-minded man And I should think,” she added ht convert you”
”It isn't my brain that wants conversion,” he replied uic tellsI don'tdeeper--recoils from the idea of wo-run Let us keep theht cleanse the stables”
”I'd rather not We're cleansing theradually, one hopes: at any rate, it's not a woman's job”
”Our view is that _all_ jobs should be women's”
”Impossible” He shook his head ”I'm one of the old-fashi+oned believers in the home as woman's sphere----”
”And the thousands of unrant you, but they're a minority Most women have the hoards laws: they should be the same for both”
”Yes,” she said with a bitterness that surprised him, ”look at the inequalities of divorce, for instance”
”We'll discuss that presently Look for a ot the pull in influence? Can't she sway men without the vote?”