"Nonsense!" exclaimed Juliet, colouring.
"You know it is true, Juliet. You cannot deny it."
"Well, if it is, I don't care that for what Hannah says." And Juliet emphasised her words by kicking a piece of orange peel from the pavement into the gutter.
Flossie laughed.
"Bravo, Juliet! I admire your spirit. As I was saying to Algernon yesterday, you are not the girl to be domineered over by those old maids at home."
Juliet was silent. She did not quite like the way in which Flossie spoke of her sisters. In spite of her antagonism to them, she was not insensible to the family bond, but was ready to resent any detraction of them from an outsider. Flossie saw she had made a mistake, and tried to divert Juliet's thoughts by the remark—
"Algernon says he is sure you will not be an old maid."
Juliet blushed warmly.
"I wonder what he can know about it?" she exclaimed, in some embarrassment.
"Oh, he can judge; he has seen you."