An emotion so spiritual and profound was beyond Sunna’s understanding. She divined that there had been some sort of love-making, but she was unfamiliar with its present indications. Her opinion, however, was that Ian had offered himself to Thora, and been rejected; in no other way could she account for the far-offness of both parties. Thora indeed was inexplicable. She not only refused to show Sunna her Easter dress, she would not enter into any description of it.
“That is a very remarkable thing,” she said to her grandfather, as they walked home together. “I think the young man made love to Thora and even asked her to marry him, and Thora was frightened and said ‘No!’ and she is likely sorry now that she did not say ‘Yes.’”
“To say ‘No!’ would not have frightened thee, I suppose?”
“That is one of the disagreeable things women have to get used to.”
“How often must a woman say ‘No!’ in order to get used to it?”
“That depends on several small things; for instance I am very sympathetic. I have a tender heart! Yes, and so I suffer.”
“I am glad to know of thy sympathy. If I asked thee to marry a young man whom I wished thee to marry, would thou do it––just to please me?”
“It would depend––on my mood that day.”
“Say, it was thy sympathetic mood?”