"Oh, if you're going to talk religion——" said Susie, pulling away her hand in great disgust.
"No, no, do listen," said Anna, catching it again and stroking it while she talked, to Susie's intense irritation, who hated being stroked.
"If you are going into the catechism," she said, "Hilton had better come in again. It might do her good."
"No, no—I only wanted to say that there's another duty not in the catechism, greater than the duty towards one's neighbour——"
"My dear Anna, it isn't likely that you can improve on the catechism. And fancy wanting to, at breakfast time. Don't stroke my hand—it gives me the fidgets."
"But I want to explain things—do listen. The duty the catechism leaves out is the duty towards oneself. You can't get away from your duties, you know, Susie——" And she knit her brows in her effort to follow out her thought.
"My goodness, as though I ever tried! If ever a poor woman did her duty, I'm that woman."
"—and I believe that if I do those two duties, towards my neighbour and myself, I shall be doing my duty towards God."
Susie gave her body an impatient twist. She thought it positively indecent to speak of sacred things so early in the morning in cold blood. "What has this drivel to do with your stopping here?" she asked angrily.
"It has everything to do with it—my duty towards myself is to be as happy and as good as possible, and my duty towards my neighbour——"