'I don't quite like to let you go alone, Laura, without consulting
the doctor, and I can't find him,' said Mrs. Winship. 'Why, you are
nervous and trembling! Hadn't you better wait until to-morrow?'
'No, thank you, Mrs. Winship. I am all ready now, and would prefer
to go. I think perhaps I have stayed quite long enough, as Polly has
just told me that everybody is glad to see the last of me, and that
I've made you all miserable since I came.
This was the climax to Polly's misery; for she was already so
overcome by the thought of her rudeness that she was on the point of
begging Laura's pardon for that particular speech then and there, and
she had only to hear her exact words repeated to feel how they would
sound in Mrs. Winship's ears.
Mrs. Winship was so entirely taken aback by Laura's remark, that she
could only ejaculate, 'Polly--said--that! What do you mean?'
'Oh, I am quite ready to think she said more than she intended, but
those were her words.'
'Polly!'
Polly turned. Alas! it was plain enough that this was no false
accusation. Her downcast eyes, flushed, tear-stained cheeks,
quivering lips, and the silent shame of her whole figure, spoke too
clearly.
'Can it be possible, Polly, that you spoke in such a way to a guest
who was about to leave my house?'
'Yes.'
The word was wrung from Polly's trembling lips. What could she say
but 'Yes,'--it was true,--and how could she repeat the taunts that
had provoked her to retort? They were not a sufficient excuse; and
for that matter, nothing could be a sufficient excuse for her
language.
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