He was about to condemn, when he recollected his own interference in my life. "Ah! you have me. I think you are right, as far as the past which relates to Alice is concerned. But if she chooses to forget, why don't you? We do much that is contrary to our moral ideas, to make people comfortable. Besides, if we do not lay our ghosts, our closets will be overcrowded."
"We may determine some things for ourselves, irrespective of consequences."
"Well, there is a mess of it."
Fanny had watched for their return, counting on an access of misery, for she believed that Alice would come also. It was what she would have done. Rage took possession of her when she saw father alone. She planted herself before him, in my presence, in a contemptuous attitude. He changed color, and then her mood changed.
"What shall I do?" she asked piteously.
I tried to get away before she made any further progress; but he checked me, dreading the scene which he foreboded, without comprehending.
"Fanny," he said harshly, but with a confused face, "you mistake me."
"Not I; it was your wife and children who mistook you."
"What is it you would say?"
"You have let me be your slave."