They looked out and saw that he had not exaggerated matters; the fog had
grown much worse since Rose's arrival, and it had been bad enough then
to make traveling by no means safe. Erica saw that there was no help
for it. Mr. Fane-Smith's anger must be incurred, and Rose must stay with
them. She went away to see that her room was prepared, and coming back a
little later found that in that brief time Rose had managed to enthrall
poor Tom who, not being used to the genus, was very easily caught, his
philosophy being by no means proof against a fair-haired, bright-looking
girl who in a very few moments made him feel that she thought most
highly of him and cared as no one had ever cared before for his opinion.
She had not the smallest intention of doing harm, but admiration was
what she lived for, and to flirt with every man she met had become
almost as natural and necessary to her as to breathe.
Erica, out of loyalty to Mr. Fane-Smith and regard for Tom's future
happiness, felt bound to be hard-hearted and to separate them at dinner.
Tom used to sit at the bottom of the table as Raeburn did not care for
the trouble of carving; Erica was at the head with her father in his
usual place at her right hand. She put Rose in between him and the
professor who generally dined with them on Saturday; upon the opposite
side were Aunt Jean and M. Noirol. Now Rose, who had been quite in her
element as long as she had been talking with Tom in the green room, felt
decidedly out of her element when she was safely ensconced between her
white-haired uncle and the shaggy-looking professor. If Erica had felt
bewildered when first introduced to the gossip and small “society” talk
of Greyshot, Rose felt doubly bewildered when for the first time in her
life she came into a thoroughly scientific atmosphere. She realized that
there were a few things which she had yet to learn. She was not fond of
learning so the discovery was the reverse of pleasant; she felt ignorant
and humbled, liking to be AU FAIT at everything and to know things and
do things just a little better than other people. Having none of the
humility of a true learner, she only felt annoyed at her own ignorance,
not raised and bettered and stimulated by a glimpse of the infinite
greatness of science.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account