“My dear, so many axioms! Enough. Let us leave it all to time; perhaps time will regulate our affairs. All of which does not change the fact that you are a scatterbrain.”
“And very capricious—”
“Lacking in judgment—”
“And a whimsical creature. I am everything you like; lecture me, I deserve it. Come; have you nothing to say? I am waiting.”
“Give me a kiss, and go to bed. Good night, baby.”
“Thank you, mama. Good night.”
“It is better so,” thought the good mother. “Lulu is too young yet. Every day one sees the sad consequences of these marriages of convenience. May Heaven free us from them! It is better so.”
“Uff!” said Lulu, taking a deep breath. “What diplomacy I was forced to use, what art in order to convince mama! I would make a perfect ambassador. What a triumph! Not like a triumph of love, to be sure, but it is Lulu’s triumph!”
She paused outside her sister’s door and listened. She heard every now and then a repressed sigh. Poor Sofia had lost her peace of mind.
“Sleep, Sofia, sleep,” Lulu murmured softly, kissing the lock of the door almost as though she were kissing her sister’s brow; “calm yourself and rest. I have worked for you this evening.”