THE TENTH SHELL AT SUMTER
her real father, only her stepfather, until she turns the vials of her wrath on us all one day and asks us if she's the only one in this house who loves him! Of course we both answers that we adores him as much as she does. But she snaps out that we don't act like it and goes off to bed—coming to breakfast the next morning with red eyes, kissing us, and asking us to forgive her, and saying that, of course, we loved Henry as much as she did—more! For, no one could know him as long as we had known him without being willing to die for him! And to forgive her if we can.
Jon and I looks sheepish at each other, for, though we did love Henry all we could, which was a good deal, we had never thought about dying for him.
After breakfast Jon says:
"Remember she's from the South, daddy, and loves and hates harder than we do."
