“She seems gay enough,” Rose observed quietly.
“I should say so! I was there very late last night; it was one of her entertainments, and little Ward was sick. I sat with him. You know she treats the children sometimes like playthings, and again—like rats! I was in the nursery watching him and helping the nurse until all the guests went. Then I went down stairs; I wanted to tell Margaret what I’d done, and I went to the ballroom door. She didn’t hear me call to her, and I went back up stairs feeling like a sneak. She was there with Mr. Fox and she was crying dreadfully when I saw her.”
Rose’s scissors clipped sharply and a fresh young twig fell unnoticed to the floor. There was a long pause. Miss English had mechanically taken off her gloves and she was drawing them through her fingers, her face full of honest trouble.
“After awhile she came up stairs,” she continued, “and came into the room where I was—”
“Gertrude,” interrupted Rose suddenly, “ought you to tell me this?”
“Every one will know soon,” said Gertrude dryly; “she came over and looked at the child and said she was glad he was better—he was asleep then and the nurse had gone out of the room for some extra milk. Margaret’s face was white, and her eyes—I never saw her eyes so wonderful. Suddenly she flung her arms around my neck and began to cry, softly so as not to wake the child. She told me—she’s going to get a divorce!”
Rose put aside her scissors and sat down, looking across at Gertrude with a strange expression, but she said nothing.
Miss English sighed, folding her gloves again. “Of course I know how bad it’s been,” she said; “he’s a brute to her sometimes and swears at her before everybody but, well, Rose, don’t you think you’d swear at Margaret if you had to live with her?”
Rose smiled a little, her lips pale. “I don’t know, Gerty,” she said, “I never did—in my life.”
“Didn’t you?” Miss English sighed again; “well,” she said, “when you’re poor, downright, disgustingly poor, you just have to say ‘damn’ once in awhile, if you didn’t you’d kill somebody!”