“She sells them,—jam and plants,—and I bought three dozen pots and four plants.”
“You went there and bought these things from her in her own house?”
“Yes,” Letitia answered, and went on helplessly, in order to say something: “Four plants for two dollars. It was very cheap.”
There was a moment’s pause. Then the man said in a suppressed voice:
“You patronized her in her poverty—pried into her home, bought things from her, gave her money! Good God!”
He dropped his voice and turned away, unable to finish. Letitia came toward him. She knew that in this interview the happiness of her life was at stake, and yet that she must be true to herself.
“I did give her money, but not as you mean. I was sorry for her and wanted to help her. I wouldn’t have hurt her any more than you would. It was because of you I went there. It was because we heard you were so interested in her. But after I got there I was ashamed and sorry, and I tried not to make her feel it.”
“So you gave her two dollars for four plants! It takes a woman to know how to humiliate a woman!”
“I saw she wasn’t the kind of person Maud thought she was,” continued Letitia, going blindly on. “I was certain they made a mistake in saying the things they did about her. Even if you were giving them money, even if you were supporting them, she wasn’t that kind.”
“Who told you I was supporting them?”