"Oh, father! and you were ready to condemn me without a word. When was this so before?"
"When were you rebellious before?"
Jessie's lips began to quiver.
"When did we have trouble like this? When was it that we became a pided family?" she said. "Never till I was unhappy enough to invite this lady here."
"She was your own guest, and you have treated her cruelly," said Mr. Lee, softening a little.
"No, father, not cruelly; coldly, perhaps, but not cruelly!"
"And why coldly?"
"Because I do not like Mrs. Dennison."
"And why, pray?"
"Because she comes between you and your own child—between you and your own wife—because—"