Their not calling confirmed Caroline's belief that she and
her brother were deliberately shunned because of their change in
circumstances, and she grew more sensitive and proudly resentful in
consequence. Naturally she turned for comfort to those who remained
faithful, the Dunns in particular. They were loyal to her. Therefore,
with the intensity of her nature, she became doubly loyal to them. The
rector of St. Denis dropped in frequently, and others occasionally, but
she was lonely. She craved the society of those nearer her own age.
Pearson's coming, then, was psychologically apt. When he made his next
call upon Captain Elisha, to find the latter out but his niece at home,
she welcomed him cordially and insisted upon his waiting until her
guardian returned. The conversation was, at first, embarrassing for the
ex-reporter; she spoke of her father, and Pearson--the memory of his
last interview with the latter fresh in his mind, and painfully aware
that she knew nothing of it--felt guilty and like a hypocrite. But soon
the subject changed, and when the captain entered the library he found
the pair laughing and chatting like old acquaintances, as, of course,
they were.
Captain Elisha, paying no attention to his friend's shakes of the head,
invited his niece to be present at the reading of the latest addition to
what he called "mine and Jim's record-breakin' sea yarn.
Pages:
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237