Dropping back into her corner Letty sighed. She knew this mystery existed, the mystery of falling in love for reasons no one was able to explain. It was the ground on which she hoped that at first sight someone would fall in love with her. If he didn’t do it for reasons beyond explanation he would, of course, not do it at all.
It was some minutes before another question trembled to her lips. “Does she—does she know about me?”
“Oh, naturally.”
“And did she—did she feel very bad?”
Barbara’s long eyes slid round in Letty’s direction, though the head was not turned. “How should you feel yourself, if it had happened to you?”
“It’d kill me.”
“Well, then?” She let Letty draw her own conclusions before adding: “It’s nearly killed her.”
Letty cowered. She had never thought of this. That she herself suffered she knew; that the prince suffered she also knew; but that this unknown girl, whatever her folly, lay smitten to the heart brought a 242 new complication into her ideas. “Even if he ever did come to—” she held up her unspoken sentence there—“I’d ha’ stolen him from her.”
There was little more conversation after that. Each had her motives for reflections and silences. They were nearing the end of the drive when Letty said again:
“What would you do if you was—if you were—me?”