“‘The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on; nor all your Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a line,
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.’”
“Please don’t be so severe, Miss Molly,” said Lawrence humbly.
“I wasn’t thinking of what you said, particularly,” said Molly. “I was thinking of any speech one might make and regret and never be able to recall.”
“You are sad,” said Lawrence. “I was certain of it. Will it make you any gladder to hear about to-morrow? You are engaged for every hour in the day. I had a great to-do keeping a little time for myself. Three fellows wanted to take you driving in the morning, but I reserved that privilege for yours truly. Dodo and I are going to drive you and Miss Judy over to Hillesdell after breakfast. Then there’s the Junior Lunch. That’s quite a big affair, you know. It’s like a reception. Prexy always comes to that and any of the alumni who happen to be down. A crowd of them come usually. Andy’s giving a tea in the Chapter rooms and there are some other teas, and then come the dinner and the ball.”
“If there’s anything left of us by then,” said Molly, laughing.
It was an intermission and everybody was visiting as they did at the Wellington Glee Club concerts. Molly, the center of a jolly crowd of young people, joined in the merriment and talk and all the time there was a taste of bitterness on her lips and in her ear a voice kept dinning over and over:
“I have plenty of time for really loyal friends, Professor Green.”
That night, when they had gone to bed in their rooms in the Chapter House, they were serenaded by a roving band of juniors. When at last the serenaders moved away and the house was still, Molly could not go to sleep.
Dozens of times she repeated her cruel speech. She analyzed and parsed it, as she used to parse sentences years before in her first lessons in grammar. She named the subject, the predicate, the object, and modifying words. She tried to define the meaning of the word loyal. What were its synonyms? Faithful was one, of course. When she closed her eyes, she could see her speech written in red across a black background like a flaming sign. Was the Professor hurt or angry or both? She recalled every kindness he had ever done for her and there were many. She remembered with a burning blush what pains he and his sister had taken to make her have a happy Christmas a year ago. He had informed President Walker on her, of course, but he was only doing his duty. And she had made that cruel speech!
“I have plenty of time for really loyal friends, Professor Green.”