Mr. Preemby assembled his courage. “You mustn’t expect me to go against reading, Chris,” he said. “It’s a pleasure and a light. There’s things in books.... Reely, Chris, I believe you’d be happier if you read a bit. Christina Alberta is a born reader, whether you like it or not. She gets it from me, I suppose.”
Mrs. Preemby started and regarded his flushed opposition; the anger in her eyes was magnified through her glasses. “It’s wonderful,” she said after a little pause; “it’s truly wonderful how Christina Alberta manages to get everything she wants.”
§ 3
Miss Maltby-Neverson, the head-mistress of the Taverners’ School, called upon Mrs. Preemby and shook her resolution a good deal. She was obviously a lady, and the school washing ran in term-time to twenty pounds a week. She was taken to see the scandalous picture and she said: “Very beautiful, I’m sure. One of the really Great Paintings in the world. Pro-foundly religious. It’s the very words of the Bible made into a picture. What do you find in it to object to, Mrs. Preemby?”
Whereupon, as if by a trick, the picture ceased to be scandalous and Mrs. Preemby was ashamed of herself. She saw now there never had been anything wrong about that picture.
Miss Maltby-Neverson said that Christina Alberta was a difficult type but a thoroughly interesting personality, a real personality. She had a great capacity for affection.
“I haven’t found that,” said Mrs. Preemby.
“It is a type I have studied,” said Miss Maltby-Neverson, simply but conclusively.
She explained that Christina Alberta was an active type. Left to herself without employment to stretch her faculties she might easily get into almost any sort of mischief. Almost any sort. Not that there was anything wrong in her essentially. It was just energy. Given good hard work and a scope for ambition, she might become a very satisfactory woman indeed—possibly even a distinguished woman.
“I’ve no use for distinguished women,” said Mrs. Preemby shortly.