“Well! Is that all you have to say? Aren’t you disgusted? You who pretend to like and admire Mrs. Dale so much?”
“There is no pretense in it. I do like and admire her very much. But how can you be astonished after the warnings you have had?”
Mabin looked at him with wide open eyes.
“I thought,” she said rather coldly, “that you would take her part.”
“Yes, so I will; so I do. But I don’t feel quite sure whether you ought to.”
“And why not? Why, since I like and pity her too, shouldn’t I take her part too?”
For a few minutes Rudolph was silent.
“You’re a girl,” said he at last.
“But that’s no reason why I should act meanly!”
“Ah, well, if it’s not a reason, it’s an excuse.”