Part 26 (2/2)
”Yes, and Lily had her in her room and Ulrica and poor little Pet.i.te couldn't deny it. Ulrica said she did nothing but cry and cry. She's been crying all the morning, poor little pig.”
”Why did she want to take anything out of the box?”
”Oh, I don't know. There was a fearful row anyhow. Ulrica said Lily talked like a clergyman--wie ein Pfarrer.... I don't know. Ulrica said she was _opening_ a letter. _I_ don't know.”
”But she can't read German or English.”
”_I_ don't know. Ask me another.”
”It is _extraordinary.”_
”What's extraordinary?” asked Bertha from the far side of Jimmie.
”Pet.i.te and that letter.”
”Oh.”
”What did the Kiddy _want?”_
”Oh, my dear, don't ask me to explain the peculiarities of the French temperament.”
”Yes, but all the letters in the letter-box would be English or German, as Hendy says.”
Bertha glanced at Miriam. Miriam flushed. She could not discuss Mademoiselle with two of the girls at once.
”Rum go,” said Bertha.
”You're right, my son. It's rum. It's all over now, anyhow. There's no accounting for tastes. Poor old Pet.i.te.”
5
Miriam woke in the moonlight. She saw Mademoiselle's face as it had looked at tea-time, pale and cruel, silent and very old. Someone had said she had been in Fraulein's room again all the afternoon....
Fraulein had spoken to her once or twice during tea. She had answered coolly and eagerly... disgusting... like a child that had been whipped and forgiven.... How could Fraulein dare to forgive anybody?
She lay motionless. The night was cool. The screens had not been moved.
She felt that the door was shut. After a while she began in imagination a conversation with Eve.
”You see the trouble _was,”_ she said and saw Eve's downcast believing admiring sympathetic face, ”Fraulein talked to me about manner, she simply wanted me to grimace, _simply._ _You_ know--be like other people.”
Eve laughed. ”Yes, I know.”
”You see? _Simply.”_
”Well, if you wanted to stay, why couldn't you?”
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