“Why not?” she asked, sharply tossing back her hair. “I stayed with my mother, you know.”
“That was different from this. I don’t know how, but it must have been.”
She took his arm. “Yes, it was. Lizzie I hate, and poor stupid father loves her as much as he loves his axe or his handsaw. I hate her meekness, too. She has taken the heart out of everything. I must get her away.”
“I see your need, Orianda, but what can you do?”
“I shall lie to her, lie like a libertine. And I shall tell her that my mother is coming home at once. No Lizzie could face that.”
He was silent. Poor Lizzie did not know that there was now no Mrs. Crabbe.
“You don’t like my trick, do you?” Orianda shook his arm caressingly.
“It hasn’t any particular grandeur about it, you know.”
“Pooh! You shouldn’t waste grandeur on clearing up a mess. This is a very dirty Eden.”
“No, all’s fair, I suppose.”