Oldfield: A Kentucky Tale of the Last CenturyBanks, Nancy Huston
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Oldfield: A Kentucky Tale of the Last Century
Banks, Nancy Huston
Kentucky -- Fiction
Miss Judy's thoughts, however, were too full of Doris and the
dancing-lesson and the events of the previous day to talk long about
anything else. She accordingly told Sidney the whole story in minutest
detail, as soon as she could get in a word, wondering somewhat that
Sidney had not already heard it from Doris, until the circumstances were
explained. With the mention of the young man the same thought stirred,
silently and secretly, in both the women's breasts, naturally enough,
since they were both true women. It had, indeed, stirred in Miss Judy's
innocent heart while she lay dreaming with her blue eyes open in the
darkness of the preceding night. But neither Miss Judy nor Sidney spoke
of what they were feeling rather than thinking. Women rarely voice these
subtle stirrings of the purely feminine instinct, if indeed they have
any words for what they thus feel. All that Sidney said was to remark,
in a matter-of-fact tone, that she must be going, as the sun was getting
high, and she had several pressing engagements to keep before she would
be free to fulfil her promise to help Kitty Mills entertain that gang of
Millses, swarming down from Green River.
"If I can get away in time--for I'm engaged to take supper with Mrs.
Alexander, as the doctor has gone 'way out on one of his long trips to
the country--I'll drop in at old lady Gordon's and see what the old
Hessian is about."
Miss Judy shook her little curly head at Sidney's calling any one such a
hard name. She could not let such a serious matter pass without
remonstrance. Yet at the same time she smiled and looked rather
mysterious. She had secretly hit upon a nice little plan while talking
about Doris and the young gentleman, and she could hardly wait till
Sidney was out of hearing before disclosing it to Miss Sophia.
"Of course I couldn't mention it to Sidney until I knew your opinion,
sister Sophia. I am sure, though, that I am only expressing your
ideas--less well than you would express them yourself--when I say that
it is our plain duty to do something at once, to show our high regard
for Doris, something to place her in a proper social light at a single
stroke. It is all important that a girl should be properly launched;"
Miss Judy went on as though she had given long and deep consideration to
the subject, and as if she and Miss Sophia were the all-powerful social
dictators of a large and complicated circle of the highest fashion.
"Just think what a difference it might have made for us, had our dear
mother lived and Becky's too, poor child."
"Just so, sister Judy," responded Miss Sophia, with the greatest
promptness and decision.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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