The Yale expositor., 1916-08-24


you said you went TO Brighton"
Georgy continued relentlessly.
when l said l went to Brighton?
When l went to BrightonP Miss Will
oughby corrected her coldly.
But the chill Of her remark was lost
upon her patient cross-examiner.
Georgy was too intent upon uncover
ing the romance that she thought she
had stumbled upon to be so easily
discouraged.
"Well, today at lunch Hugh Middle
ton said you couldn't have been in
Brighton that week" She paused
to watch the effect OF her bombshell.
"Did he? Really?" Miss Willough-
by replied with well-felgned indiffer-
ence. But beneath her cold calm her
heart was beating furiously. She felt
for all the world like some wild thing,
trapped, at bay. And she turned away
to hide the alarm that she feared must
reveal itself in her face.
"Yes! He was in Paris, and"
Paris" Ethel echoed with q faint
start.
Youth is ever cruel; and Georgy
had no thought OF sparing her compan-
ion. Her sole idea was that If Ethel
were hiding some secret liaisOn she
wanted to share the romance with her.
"Yesw she went on relentlessly.
"And he saw you there twice that
week, and both times with Henry
Streetman."
"But that's impossiblew Ethel pro-
tested.
But Mr.. Middleton seemed very
positive" the younger girl said some
what doubtfully.
Its too absurdw Ethel cried, fore
ing laugh. 81 was at Brighton, as l
can very easily prove"
"Well-that's settledw Georgy ex-
claimed. with an air OF relief in spite
of her hopes. Her feelings had, as a
matter of fact, been somewhat COM
plex. "Of course I'd only admire you
for being brave enough to defy the
conventions. But father wouldn't"
but 1 haven't defied conventions"
Ethel insisted, placing both her hands
over Georgy's as IF to emphasize the
truth OF her statement.
"Oh. / don't care if you have" Sir
Georges daughter told her callously.
But you ought TO care" Ethel pro-
tested "And as your governess 1 can
not condone such an attitude on your
part. Really. Georgy, stupid as con-
ventions may appear sometimes, new
ertheless there is a bitter penalty ex-
acted from people who break them"
Miss Wagstaff rose abruptly, as If
impatient with the views of her COVER
ness; and, crossing the room, she seat
ed herself nonchalantly upon the arm
OF a chair that was drawn up at one
side of the tea table.
"Oh, poohp' she exclaimed. "All
that narrow-mindednes is old-fash-
ioned."
The older girl regarded her reprov-
ingly.
What silly book have you been
reading" she inquired. After her ad-
vent into the Wagstaff home it had not
taken her long to discover that
| Georgy's literary tastes had developed
along lines that would scarcely have
met with Sir Georges approval.
Miss Georgy did not even deign
TO reply TO Ethel's question. They had
had numerous discussions-more or
less heated-upon the subject of her
reading, which Georgy regarded as
both footless and absurd. She had
openly rebelled at reading the books
/ 81
Austen and Mrs. Gaskell were, in her
opinion, hopelessly behind the times.
"I'm glad you haven't had an affair
with Henry Streetman," the younger
girl remarked. 81 don't like him."
"Don't you?" said Ether, relieved
that Georgy was at last convinced that
her suspicious were groundless.
"Nol Every time he comes into the
room my back sort of goes up, just
like Rowdy when he sees n cat" Row
dy was Georgy's Scotch terrier, whose
antipathy TO cats was proverblal.
"Mr. Streetman has been very kind
to me-" her governess observed.
"oh, don't defend him. Georgy
cried impatiently. IL know inside that
you agree with me-"
Miss willougnby did not care to
continue the discussion. And with an
air of dismissing both Mr.. Streetman
and her relations with him from her
own mind as well as Georgy's, she
rose from the wide seat. and as she
glanced at her watch exclaimed with
surprise:
"Heavensl It's after FIVE. I must
fuss up a bit for the party"
But Georgy would not be put Off
so easily.
"Well, forewarned Is forearmed,"
she said sententiously. IL was clear
that she did not intend to be squelched
like child. If Henry Streetman
were still IN her mind, she saw no
reason why she should dissemble in
order to please Ethel or anybody else.
"There's nothing to be forewarned
about" Miss Willoughby observed, as
she paused at the door that opened
| into her bOudoir "You surely have no