It was Allan Dunlop who had
thus taken summary possession of her, and incurred a little of her
dignified displeasure.
"You left me no room for choice," she said in a slightly offended
tone.
"I beg your pardon, I was thinking only of leaving you room for a
seat."
She was silent. It was very difficult to keep this young man at a
distance, when there was such a very little distance between them, and
yet she must be true to the promise tacitly given to her father. She
must be cool, indifferent, uninterested. "It isn't a matter of any
importance," she said absently.
"I'm afraid it is to me," he continued in a lower tone, "I know
scarcely a soul here, and declined Edward's invitation to join you on
that account."
"Oh, it is very easy to become acquainted with a sleighing-party." She
greeted the two young ladies on the other side of him, and introduced
him to them. They were refined, attractive-looking girls, but they had
a fatal defect. They absorbed social heat and light instead of
radiating them. It seemed as though they might be saying: "There, now,
you got us into an unpleasant situation by inviting us here, and it's
your duty to make us happy; but we're not having a good time at all,
and we'd like to know what you're going to do about it.
Pages:
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206