“The fact of the matter is, you are too pretty to do these things,” she replied, helplessly telling the truth in her extremity.
“Can Perfection City then only succeed if all the women are ugly?” asked Olive scornfully. “You had better not proclaim that fact, or you’ll have all the women running away.”
Madame was in the habit of being worshipped by men, and was not at all prepared to have her remarks ridiculed by a slip of a girl. She did not like it, and therefore replied with some asperity,
“You are really too silly, Sister Olive. You must surely perceive that there is great danger in your associating with Mr. Cotterell on so familiar a footing, that, in short, he may fall in love with you, and I presume you can understand the danger of that.”
“Precisely, a fresh set of laws must, as usual, be applied to me, and not those which govern the rest of you,” said Olive calmly.
“I don’t understand to what you refer,” said Madame looking at her doubtfully.
“Mr. Cotterell knew from the outset that I was a married woman. I don’t see the alarmingness of the danger that he might fall in love with me, simply because we talked together. The idea has only struck you in reference to me; it does not seem to have done so with regard to the similar circumstances of you and Ezra.”
Madame turned white with anger. “How dare you insult me by such an insinuation?” she exclaimed.
“I didn’t dare until after you had first given utterance to the insinuation against me,” replied Olive, with provoking calmness.
Madame turned as if she could have struck her, but she controlled herself with a desperate effort.