But it was hard to sit for hours in the same room with people who were scarcely conscious of her presence, and though Thora tried to hide her pain lest Oscar should feel ashamed, she sometimes felt bitter about Helga, and wanted to burst out on her. The only thing which restrained her from doing so was a sweet doubt which she cherished in the most secret chamber of her heart that perhaps she was mistaken after all, and Oscar did not really care for Helga.
"Auntie," she said, "don't you think it's silly to be jealous?"
"Depends upon circumstances, Thora."
"If a wife--for example--fancies her husband is paying too much attention to another woman--don't you think she is silly to be jealous?"
"She's silly to show she is, my precious. It doesn't prevent the sting to bite the head off the serpent, and if a wife shows the husband she's jealous, she's just doing what the other woman wants."
"So you think she ought to be quiet and say nothing?"
"Certainly, I do. If the man is going to run away from her, she had better let him run, and if he isn't, he'll be the more ashamed because he thinks she doesn't know."
"You mean that if the man is only fascinated for a time----"
"Just so! Fascination may be good enough for a flirtation, but it's like bright metal--it soon gets tarnished in a damp cellar. You want gold for the dark places, my honey."
"That is to say, auntie dear, that love is the only thing for married life?"