Page:The Europeans (1st edition) Volume 2.djvu/224

 looking for a compensation. A charming fellow comes along—and voilà!" Charlotte sat mutely staring at the floor, and Felix presently added, "Do go on with your slipper. I like to see you work."

Charlotte took up her variegated canvas, and began to draw vague blue stitches in a big round rose. "If Gertrude is so—so strange," she said, "why do you want to marry her?"

"Ah, that's it, dear Charlotte! I like strange women; I always have liked them. Ask Eugenia! And Gertrude is wonderful; she says the most beautiful things!"

Charlotte looked at him, almost for the first time, as it her meaning required to be