“Ah, well, I can’t quite feel like that—that it’s only Mabin. When one likes a person, and wants to be good friends, very good friends with that person, just as one used to be when that person and one’s self were little things in short frocks and knickerbockers, it is very disheartening to find that person so determined to be—er—to be—er—so reserved that when one sits beside that person as I did last night, you know, she will only let one see so much of her right ear as to practically turn her back to one!”
“I didn’t!”
“You did though. And it is what you were doing again just now until the horror of hearing the truth made you turn around to fly at me! You did turn your back upon me last night, Miss Rose, and you hurt my feelings.”
“Indeed, you did not seem to be hurt. You seemed to be enjoying yourself very much!”
“Well, so I was in a way. But I should have enjoyed myself much more if you had been as nice as you were in the garden.”
Mabin heaved a deep sigh.
“It’s no use expecting me to be nice,” she said in a voice of despair, “I can only manage it so very seldom.”
“Well, could you hold out some signal, such as by wearing a particular flower, or color, or some especial knot of ribbon, to let one know when one may speak to you without being snubbed?”
“No, I couldn’t,” retorted Mabin with great fierceness, but with a twinkle of fun in her gray eyes, which gave greater hopes than her words did. “It is of no use for me to promise more than I can perform. You had much better look upon me as a decidedly disagreeable person, with rare moments of proper behavior.”
“Proper behavior, then, means niceness? I’m glad you think it proper to be nice to me!” said Rudolph. “I perceive that I’ve lighted upon one of the ‘rare moments,’ and I’m going to take advantage of it,” he added, as he came a little nearer to her, and looked up in her face with a glance of amusement and admiration which made her blush a little. “I’m going to make you talk to me, and amuse me, as you were told to do last night.”