"Of course, it's plain enough to see that they're the best of friends—"
"Friends!" Mrs. Champney interrupted her; there was a scornful note in her voice which insensibly sharpened; "you haven't your usual common sense, Aileen, if you can't read between these lines well enough to see that Miss Van Ostend and my nephew are as good as engaged."
Aileen smiled, but made no reply.
"What are you laughing at?" The tone was peremptory and denoted extreme irritation. Aileen put down her work and looked across to her interrogator.
"I was only smiling at my thoughts."
"Will you be so good as to state what they are? They may prove decidedly interesting to me—at this juncture," she added emphatically.
Aileen's look of amusement changed swiftly to one of surprise.
"To be honest, I was thinking that what she writes about Mr. Googe doesn't sound much like love, that was all—"
"That was all!" Mrs. Champney echoed sarcastically; "well, what more do you need to convince you of facts I should like to know?"
Aileen laughed outright at this. "Oh, Mrs. Champney, what's the use of being a girl, if you can't know what other girls mean?"