Heart, fear nothing, for heart, thou shalt find her,
Next time herself!—not the trouble behind her ...
Still the same chance! she goes out as I enter.
Spend my whole day in the quest;—who cares? ...
It's like that with me and my Venice. It hurts rather—but I have to go on."
"You shouldn't, my dear," Mrs. Johnson murmured soothingly. "I'm sure you should be careful. We mustn't play tricks with our constitutions."
Rhoda kicked Peter under the table in mistake for her mother, and never discovered the error.
"Can you tell me," Miss Barnett added abruptly, in her cheerful voice, "where it hides?"
Peter looked helpful and intelligent, and endeared himself to her thereby. She thought him a sympathetic young man, with possibilities, probably undeveloped.
Vyvian, who regarded Miss Barnett and "Venice, Her Spirit," with contemptuous jealousy, thought that Rhoda was paying them too much attention, and effectually called her away by saying, "If you care to come with me to the Schiavoni, I can better explain to you what I mean."
Rhoda kindled and flushed and looked suddenly pretty. Peter heard a smothered sigh on his left.
"I don't like it," Mrs. Johnson murmured to him. "No, I don't. If it was you, now, as offered to take her—But there, I daresay you wouldn't be clever enough to suit Rhoder; she's so partic'lar. You and me, now—we get on very well; seems as if we liked to talk on the same subjects, as it were; but Rhoder's different. When we go about together, it's always, 'Mother, not so loud! Oh, mother, you mustn't! Mother, that ain't really beautiful at all, and you're givin' of us away. Mother, folks are listening.' Let 'em listen is what I say. They won't hear anything that could hurt 'em from me. But Rhoder's so quiet; she hates a bit of notice. Not that she minds when she's with him; he talks away at the top of his voice, and folks do turn an' listen—I've seen 'em. But I suppose that's clever talk, so Rhoder don't mind."
She raised her voice from the thick and cautious whisper which she thought suitable for these remarks, and addressed Peggy.