Sl’~~wepti~othedrawing-room，MrsMallowefollowedandputanarmroundherwaist。
“I’mnot！”saidMrsHauksbee，defiantly，rummagingforherhandkerchief“I’vebeendiningoutthelasttennights，andrehearsingintheafternoonYou’dbetiredyourselfIt’sonlybecauseI’mtired。”
MrsMallowedidnotofferMrsHauksbeeanypityorasknertoliedown，butgaveheranothercupoftea，andwentonwiththetalk。
“I’vebeenthroughthattoo，dear。”shesaid。
“Iremember。”saidMrsHauksbee，agleamoffunonherface“In’84wasn’tit？Youwentoutagreatdeallessnextseason。”
MrsMallowesmiledinasuperiorandSphinx4ikefashion。
“IbecameanInfluence。”saidshe。
“Goodgracious，child，youdidn’tjointheTheosophistsandkissBuddha’sbigtoe，didyou？I
triedtogetintotheirsetonce，buttheycastmeoutforaskeptic-withoutachanceofimprovingmypoorlittlemind，too。”
“No，Ididn’tTheosophilanderJacksays“-“NevermindJackWhatahusbandsaysisknownbeforeWhatdidyoudo？”
“Imadealastingimpression。”
“SohaveI-forfourmonthsButthatdidn’tconsolemeintheleast。
IhatedthemanWiflyoustopsmilinginthatinscrutablewayandtellmewhatyoumean？”
MrsMallowetold。
*
“And-you-mean~to~saythatitisabsolutelyPlatoniconbothsides？”
“Absolutely，orIshouldneverhavetakenitup。”
“Andhislastpromotionwasduetoyou？”
MrsMallowenodded。
“AndyouwarnedhimagainsttheTopshamgirl？”
Anothernod。
“AndtoldhimofSirDugaldDelane’sprivatememoabouthim？”
Athirdnod。
“Why？”
“Whataquestiontoaskawoman！BecauseitamusedmeatfirstI
amproudofmypropertynowIfIliveheshallcontinuetobesuccessfulYes，IwillputhimuponthestraightroadtoKnighthood，andeverythingelsethatamanvaluesTherestdependsuponhimself。”
“Polly，youareamostextraordinarywoman。”
“NotintheleastI’mconcentrated，that’sallYoudiffuseyourself，dear；andthoughallSimlaknowsyourskillinmanagingateam“-“Can’tyouchooseaprettierword？”“Team，ofhalfadozen，fromTheMussucktotheHawleyBoy，yougainnothingbyitNotevenamusement。”
“Andyou？”
“TrymyrecipeTakeaman，notaboy，mind，butanalmostmature，unattachedman，andbethisguide，philosopher，andfriendYou’llfinditthemostinterestingoccupationthatyoueverembarkedonItcanbedone-youneedn’tlooklikethat-becauseI’vedoneit。”
“There’sanelementofriskaboutitthatmakesthenotionattractiveI’llgetsuchamanandsaytohim，’Now，understandthattheremustbenoflirtaTHEEDUCATIONOFOTISYEERE
193
tionDoexactlywhatItellyou，profitbyniyinstructionandcounsels，andallwillyetbewell。’Isthattheidea？”
“Moreorless。”saidMrsMallowewithanunfathomablesmile。
“Butbe~ureheunderstands。”
II
Dribhle-dribble-trickle~trickleWhatalotofrawdust！
Mydollie’shadanaccidentAndoutcameallthesawdust！-
NurseryRhyme。
SoMrsHauksbee，in“TheFoundry“whichoverlooksSimlaMall，satatthefeetofMrs。
MalloweandgatheredwisdomTheendoftheConferencewastheGreatIdeauponwhichMrs。
Hauksbeesoplumedherself。
“Iwarnyou。”saidMrsMallowe，beginningtorepentofhersuggestion，“thatthematterisnothalfsoeasyasitlooksAnywoman-eventheTop-shamgirl-cancatchaman，butvery，veryfewknowhowtomanagehimwhencaught。”
“Mychild。”wastheanswer，“I’vebeenafemaleStSimonStyliteslookmgdownuponmenforthes~theseyearspastAskTheMussuckwhetherIcanmanagethem。”
MrsHauksbeedepartedhumming，“I’llgotohimandsaytohiminmannermostironical。”
MrsMallowelaughedtoherselfThenshegrewsuddenlysober。
“IwonderwhetherI’vedonewellinadvisingthatamusement？Lucy’sacleverwoman，butathoughttoocareless。”
Aweeklater，thetwo...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：