“Would you think it infernal impudence if I asked you what the truth was?”
She hesitated and then laughed a little.
“You know the funny thing is that I had almost completely forgotten the whole business. It seemed important at the time but it was really trivial. Except for the fact that it opened up other things to me. Of course I’ll tell you, if you want to know.”
She did tell him in outline, stressing the fact of the misunderstanding all around, on the whole, dealing rather gently with Barbara, now that anger had gone out of her.
“I had made rather a fool of myself you see,” she finished.
He looked at her as if waiting for her to go on.
“That’s all.”
“I see. She—well—.” He let that pass. “Now ordinarily it is easy to say that gossip and slander don’t make any difference to a high minded person. I think you are high minded. I do feel however that she has made this incident a basis for a kind of slander that is dangerous. Her accusations against you are, from what I hear, absolutely libelous. It wouldn’t take ten minutes to shut her mouth if I could talk to her. But I want you to fully refute her specific attacks.”
“I know. I imagine she might say almost anything.”
“Well, then, you have never stayed at the Roadside Inn, have you?”