“As my niece is really the mistress of this house, and too unwell to bear so much excitement, I must second her request, ladies, that you withdraw!”
Both understood that they were dismissed, and they dared not parley with this calm, dignified lady as they would have continued to do with Eva, whom they looked on merely as a child, without realizing that she had come to womanhood’s years since escaping from their clutches.
They rose instantly from their seats and proceeded to beat an undignified retreat from the house, muttering as they went of “folks that didn’t have no manners, even if they did live in fine houses,” to all of which no one replied as they hurried down the steps to their waiting carriage.
When safe within it the spinster sighed lugubriously:
“Well, we made a dead failure at that, eh? We cain’t never git into sassiety through Eva Somerville.”
“Oh, but wouldn’t I just like to get revenge on the proud piece,” hissed Patty, her eyes gleaming with a tigerish glare.
She would, indeed, have liked to take hold of Eva and shake her, as she had been wont to do in her younger days when might made right.
In her father’s beautiful home, surrounded by love and luxury, Eva had seemed to her like a little queen, and rage and envy filled her heart.
They scolded all the way back home, the precious pair of schemers, and they could have killed Eva for her pride and scorn. Miss Ruttencutter said indignantly:
“We couldn’t make the least headway with her, for all we tried to forgive her everything, an’ associate with her on equal terms, like as nuthing had ever been said ag’inst her character. She treated us like the dirt under her feet.”