Page:Leah Reed--Brenda's summer at Rockley.djvu/77

Rh “There, Brenda, that’s it. Frances never looks outside of her own set. Tell me honestly, now that you are so much broader-minded than you used to be, if you don’t  think it’s very silly for a girl not to be willing to realize  that there are people in the world besides those whom she  knows best and considers in society?”

“Why, yes, I do consider it rather foolish.” Brenda had felt somewhat complimented by the adjective “broad-minded,” which Nora had applied to her. “You know,” she continued, “that I don’t agree with everything Belle  and Frances say. But I think that you are a little hard on them sometimes.”

“Frances certainly treated us very hospitably to-day, and it is n’t just the thing to criticise her. But, someway, it tires me to hear her and Belle talking in that languid style, just like grown people, and I’m glad that we are not obliged to follow their example.”

When Brenda was dressing for dinner that evening, Nora slipped into her room for a few minutes.

“I always think of this room as one of the cosiest and prettiest I know. These pink roses are so lovely on wall paper, and the china matches it so exactly. Oh, what a delightful easy chair this is!” and Nora flung  herself down into the depths of one that held out its  arms invitingly.

“I should think that you would feel like keeping it most of the time on that little covered balcony, where you could sit and read and look at the sea, and do nothing  else for hours.”