“Monsieur, I swear by the saints those were madame’s words. Ask her if you doubt me.”
She had such an air of truth and injured innocence that he believed her, and his face grew so stern and pale that she was frightened.
But he took the package from her hands without a word, and carried it to his room.
“I will keep them here always to remind me of this rebuff when I feel tempted again to show her any kindness,” he said, sternly.
And when Molly made her appearance at dinner that evening he was as cold as ice, merely noticing her presence by a slight sarcastic bow.
The two school girls dined at home that evening by permission of their teacher, and their eager chatter and merry laughter filled up the pauses that would otherwise have been so embarrassing. One of the girls, Nina by name, was of the same age as Molly, the other one was sixteen, and her sweet name, Dora, had been shortened to Dot.
Nina and Dot were pretty, impulsive girls, warm-hearted to a fault, and although they had been told Molly’s story they did not resent it as did the older members of the family. They thought and declared that it was too “romantic for anything.”
When they left their father and brother over the wine and walnuts they each slipped an arm in Molly’s and led her to the parlor and to a sofa, where they placed her between them.
“Now, let us have a real good chat,” said Dot. “School closes next month, you know, and then we are all going back to the United States. Dear old Maple Shade and black mammy, I do really long to see them again, don’t you, Nina?”
“Yes, indeed.”