"
Caroline looked aghast.
"Didn't you have any dog?" she demanded.
"I hope not, in a four-room flat," the lady returned with feeling.
"One family kept one, though, and the nasty little thing jumped up
on a lovely checked silk aunty had just given me, and ruined it. I
tried to take it out with gasolene, but it made a dreadful spot, and
I cried myself sick. Of course I didn't understand about rubbing the
gasolene dry then; I was only eleven."
The children looked uncomfortably at the ground, conscious of a
distinct lack of sympathy for the tragedy that even at this distance
deepened the lovely rose of the lady's cheek and softened her dark
blue eyes.
"But in the summer," the young man said, "surely it was different
then! In the country--"
"Oh, mercy, we didn't get to the country very much," she
interrupted. "You know July and August are bargain times in the
stores and a dressmaker can't afford to leave. Aunty did all her
buying then and I went with her. Dear me," as something in his face
struck her, "you needn't look so horrified! It's not bad in New York
a bit--there's something going on all the while; and then we went to
Rockaway and Coney Island evenings, and had grand times. To tell
you the truth, I never cared for the country--I don't sleep a bit
well there.
Pages:
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177