"She will. You can be pretty sure of that."
Peter was pacing up and down the room, his hands behind him. "If she'd been a man——" he was muttering. "If she'd only been a man."
Beth watched him a moment, still smiling.
"Oh, I got what she meant—she was just tryin' to insult me."
She laughed. "Seems as if she'd kind of succeeded. I suppose I ought to have scratched her face for her. I think I would have—if she'd just stayed a minute longer. Funny too, because I always used to think she was so sweet."
Peter threw his arms wildly into the air and exploded.
"Sweet! Sweet! That girl! Yes, if vinegar is. She'll tear your reputation to shreds."
Beth had stopped smiling now and leaned against the wall, her chin lowered.
"I reckon it serves me right. I hadn't any business to be comin' here—not at night, anyway."
"Oh, Beth," he pleaded, catching her hands. "Why couldn't you have let things be?"