“Why do you say such things to me? Is a woman of necessity a fool?”
“If she is wise she is. It is a fool that a man desires; if she is a fool she will rule him when he has her. The greater fool is governed by the lesser.”
She had a most astonishing way of talking. Considering her age, and, in years, I felt convinced that she was the merest slip of a girl, she professed to have a knowledge of the world which was amazing. I did not know what to say; not being used to carry on a conversation on the lines which she seemed to favour. So she asked another question, with another jerk of her shoulder towards the bed.
“Has she a lover?”
“She has.”
“No! That is stranger still! A real lover? What sort of a man is he?”
“He’s not a bad sort.”
“Not a bad sort? What is that? Is he rich?”
“Rich!” I smiled at the idea of Tom Cooper being rich. “He is very far from being rich, unfortunately for him, and for Pollie too. He is an assistant in a shop.”
“A shop? What kind of shop?”