Page:The Siege of London, The Pension Beaurepas, and The Point of View (Boston, James R. Osgood & Co., 1883).djvu/102

he told me I should have great success. He does n't know much about it, any way; he has n't got much gumption. But he 's a very nice man, all the same; it 's very pleasant to see him surrounded by his—" And Mrs. Headway paused a moment, looking admiringly about her "Surrounded by all his old heirlooms. I like the old place," she went on; "it 's beautifully mounted; I 'm quite satisfied with what I 've seen. I thought Lady Demesne was very friendly; she left a card on me in London, and very soon after, she wrote to me to ask me here. But I 'm very quick; I sometimes see things in a flash. I saw something yesterday, when she came to speak to me at dinner-time. She saw I looked pretty, and it made her blue with rage; she hoped I would be ugly. I should like very much to oblige her; but what can one do? Then I saw that she had asked me here only because he insisted. He did n't come to see me when I first arrived—he never came near me for ten days. She managed to prevent him; she got him to make some promise. But he changed his mind after a little, and then he had to do something really polite. He called three days in succession, and he made her come. She 's one of those women that resists as long as she can, and then seems to give in, while she 's really resisting more than ever. She hates me like poison; I don't know what she thinks I 've done. She 's very underhand; she 's a regular old cat. When I saw you last night at dinner, I thought she had got you here to help her."