"Ah! you must see a lot of things that make you wonder," she answered insolently. "Not for myself did I ever blush; but for father, as forbid me to marry the only chap that ever loved me, or was ever likely to. What do I care? I suppose you and father, in your righteous wisdom, have decided that we may be married now, anyway; and if you haven’t ’tis no odds, because parson will mighty soon shout out the banns when we ax him to do it." "You’re a bad woman," said her brother, shortly, "and this is a very brazen, shameless piece of work." "That for you," she answered, flicking her fingers in his face. "I’m as straight and honest and true as your wife, or Rhoda either. ’Tis her that’s nasty and shameful, with her prudish ways, not me. And if I’ve done anything to think twice about, ’tis father’s fault--and yours." David was angry and turned to his wife. "The less you hear of this sort of talk the better," he said. "I’ll have no trollop here, fouling your ears with her lewd speeches." "Call yourself a man!" sneered Dorcas. "Call yourself a man, to speak of me like that. You know I loved the chap as faithful and true as a bird its mate, and I was his wife just as much as Madge be yours in everything but the jargon and the ring. And you turn round and call me ’lewd,’ because I did the only thing I could do to force father to say ’yes.’ ’Tis you that are lewd--you and yonder creature, who won’t see me nor touch me no more; and so much the better for me." She pointed to Rhoda, who was sitting a little way off calmly waiting for Dorcas to depart. "Larn from your wife to be larger-minded," she began again; then David silenced her. "Stop!" he thundered out. "Who are the likes of you--a common, fallen woman--to preach to me? You get going out of this! I don’t want you here no more, and I won’t have you here no more." "Bah!" she answered. "You’re jealous of my William--that’s what you are! Because you can’t do what he’s done!" "Begone before I come back," he answered, "or I’ll wring your neck, you foul-thinking slut! And look to it you treat her as I do, Margaret, or there may come trouble between us." He glanced at his wife darkly, then, in most unusual anger, left the threshold and walked across to Rhoda. "A pair of ’em," commented Dorcas. "And, please Heaven, they’ll both be childless to their dying day. I hate the ground they walk on!" "Don’t! don’t, for God’s sake, curse like that," cried the other, and Dorcas, divining what she had done, was instantly contrite. Indeed, she began to cry. "I’m--I’m that savage; but not with you, Madge--never with you. Forgive me for saying that. Of course you’ll have plenty of children--plenty--more’n you want, for that matter. Never think you won’t--such a lover of the little creatures as you be. You’ll make up for lost time when you do start. And I hope you’ll love mine as well as your own, for, barring me and Billy and Billy’s mother, there won’t be many to love ’em."