"Very likely she will. She is a rich man's daughter, and I am a poor man's child; though I dare say she is not so rich as she pretends."
"I don't see that Betty makes any pretence at all," said Emily. "She seems to me as quiet and unpretending as any girl in school, and I don't think you have any right to accuse Miss Lyman of partiality. The fact is, Martha, you have taken such a dislike to Betty Allis, that it makes no difference what she does."
"Well, I have a right to dislike her," replied Martha. "She has treated me shamefully, and she is just as proud, and artful, and hateful, as she can be."
"Who is so proud, and artful, and hateful, Martha?" asked Miss Margaret, who had been sitting all the time behind the blinds of the window which opened on the verandah where the girls were now talking. "Those are hard words to apply to any one."
Martha did not answer, but Emily said:
"We were talking about Betty Allis, Aunt Margaret."
"I am surprised at that," replied Aunt Margaret. "I have always thought her a very nice girl."
"And so does almost every one," said Emily; "but Martha does not like her."
"Well, I do not, and I have good reasons for not liking her," said Martha. "She never loses a chance of provoking and spiting me."
"How does she provoke you?" asked Aunt Margaret.