“Indeed? You reassure me!�
“As if that were necessary.�
“You haven’t told me what you really think of us here, Miss Tibby.�
“I think it is lovely here; you have so much breathing space.�
“Is that all we are supposed to do—breathe?�
“There doesn’t seem to be a chance for much else. Now does that sound impolite? I don’t mean it so.� Tibby flicked the toe of her boot with her whip, and drew in one of the deep corners of her mouth as if she had said something she ought not to.
“Not in the least impolite. It’s a fact. We may exist here, not much else.�
“But I didn’t mean that. I like it here very much. But one is so free from restraint, breathing seems the easiest and about the only necessary thing to do.�
“You were country born?�
“Yes, and I remember it seemed there as if I was repressed and confined and I looked yearningly out into the greater liberty of the world. Think of it! From the freedom of country I longed for liberty.�