“Why?” she asked, as she looked at the envelope that was addressed to her father.
“Doesn’t he send you all the money he can?” I questioned in turn.
“Probably,” (she jabbed holes in the blotter with her pen) “but I need more. You see early in the game—when Miss Parrish deigned to notice me, I borrowed money of her, she was always pressing it upon me—one of her sweet ways of impressing people with her wealth importance—” (I didn’t say anything, but I thought Viola was mean) “and I need to repay that, and then—my clothes are in rags,” (which was nonsense, for they weren’t) “and I always do ask father for extra money at Christmas time,” she continued, “because he softens then—or is in so deep that he thinks a little more won’t matter—anyway, since I always do ask him, there’s no reason for you to be so shocked—”
“He’s your father,” I stated, “but I’ll tell you, I’d hate to send my father a letter like that to get around Christmas time!”
Viola shrugged her shoulders. Then she grew haughty. “As you say,” she said, “he is my father, and it is my affair—”
“You asked me about it,” I put in sharply, “I was going by, and you called me in and said you were writing your father for money, and asked me what I thought would come of it—”
“I meant how much would come of it.”
“Oh.”
“He’s quite used to it, Jane,” she went on, and almost apologetically, “Mother has to ask him for extra money all the time. . . . We simply struggle, and pinch at every point, but even then we can’t put up half the appearance that we should, and we never have what every one around us has—and takes for granted. Did you hear Miss Meek say ‘I’ll wager it’s jolly slummish around the jail!’ yesterday when I was describing our breakfast room? Horrid old thing!”
I didn’t say so, but Viola had made Miss Meek hazard this opinion about Ossining because she, Viola, had put on so many unnecessary and silly airs about her home. Miss Meek added, after her first remark, that of course she knew nothing whatsoever about it, since she never had visited such low places. The moment that followed had been strained—and funny!