“Then he is a detractor, a character I despise.”
“Who does he detract from? I never heard him.”
“From all his superiors—in other words, from everybody he meets. Did you ever know him fail to sneer at Mr. Hardie?”
“Oh, that is the offense, is it?”
“No, it is the same with others; there, the other day, Mr. Dodd joined us on horseback. He did not dress for the occasion. He had no straps on. He came in a hurry to have our society, not to cut a dash. But there was Mr. Talboys, who can only do this one thing well, and who, thanks to his servant, had straps on, sneering the whole time at Mr. Dodd, who has mastered a dozen far more difficult and more honorable accomplishments than putting on straps and sitting on horses. But he is always backbiting and sneering; he admires nothing and nobody.”
“He has admired you ever since he saw you.”
“What! has he never sneered at me?”
“Never! ungrateful girl, never.”
“How humiliating! He takes me for his inferior. His superiors he always sneers at. If he had seen anything good or spirited in me, he could not have helped detracting from me. Is not this a serious reason—that I despise the person who now solicits my love, honor and obedience? Well, then, there is another—a stronger still. But perhaps you will call it a woman's reason.”
“I know. You don't like him—that is, you fancy you don't, and can't.”