Page:The Fruit of the Tree (Wharton 1907).djvu/104

Rh that you and Mr. Tredegar objected to her seeing Mr. Amherst last night has roused the spirit of opposition in her. A year ago she hadn’t any spirit of opposition.”

“There was nothing for her to oppose—poor Dick made her life so preposterously easy.”

“My ingenuous friend! Do you still think that’s any reason? The fact is, Bessy wasn’t awake, she wasn’t even born, then. … She is now, and you know the infant’s ﬁrst conscious joy is to smash things.”

“It will be rather an expensive joy if the mills are the ﬁrst thing she smashes.”

“Oh I imagine the mills are pretty substantial. I should, I own,” Mrs. Ansell smiled, “not object to seeing her try her teeth on them.”

“Which, in terms of practical conduct, means?"

“That I advise you not to disapprove of her staying on, or of her investigating the young man’s charges. You must remember that another peculiarity of the infant mind is to tire soonest of the toy that no one tries to take away from it.”

“Que diable! But suppose Truscomb turns rusty at this very unusual form of procedure? Perhaps you don’t quite know how completely he represents the prosperity of the mills.”

“All the more reason,” Mrs. Ansell persisted, rising at the sound of Mr. Tredegar’s approach. “For don’t you perceive, my poor distracted friend, that if [ 90 ]