Page:The Fruit of the Tree (Wharton 1907).djvu/365

Rh that respect for the medical verdict which is the last trace of reverence for authority in the mind of the modern woman. But Mrs. Amherst laughed with gentle malice.

“Oh, I haven’t seen Dr. Wyant lately. His interest in me died out the day you left.”

Justine forced a laugh to hide her annoyance. She had not yet recovered from the shrinking disgust of her last scene with Wyant.

“Don’t be a goose, Bessy. If he hasn’t come, it must be because you’ve told him not to—because you’re afraid of letting him see that you’re disobeying him.”

Bessy laughed again. “My dear, I’m afraid of nothing—nothing! Not even of your big eyes when they glare at me like coals. I suppose you must have looked at poor Wyant like that to frighten him away! And yet the last time we talked of him you seemed to like him—you even hinted that it was because of him that Westy had no chance.”

Justine uttered an impatient exclamation. “If neither of them existed it wouldn’t affect the other’s chances in the least. Their only merit is that they both enhance the charms of celibacy!”

Bessy’s smile dropped, and she turned a grave glance on her friend. “Ah, most men do that—you’re so clever to have found it out!”

It was Justine’s turn to smile. “Oh, but I haven’t— [ 349 ]