On this particular morning she was evolving a description of her impressions during a drive on the Pincio the afternoon before. She felt lazily content with the world, herself, and things in general and had no wish to bestir herself.
"I wish you weren't so awfully energetic, Ragna," she said.
"Well, I couldn't sit down in Rome and bite my pen all day, as if there were nothing better to do,—you might as well be in Christiania! Come, get on your things!"
"What are you going to see to-day?"
"I'm not going to see anything this morning. I have some shopping to do in the Corso."
Astrid's eyes brightened, then she shook her head.
"I must finish my letter first."
"Oh, nonsense! Edvard can wait a few hours!"
"You always say that—but then you don't know what it is to be engaged," she glanced at the pretty ring decorating her hand. "You see, Edvard gets so huffy if I'm not regular in my correspondence, and I haven't written to him for three days."
Ragna shrugged her shoulders.