“Idon’tthinkyou’dbettercomewithme,”hesaid.“I’minratherahurryandIshallwalkfast.”
“Icanwalkfasttoo,”shesaid,herfacecloudingover.
“No,youcan’t—Iknowwhatyoucallwalkingfast.Ifyoulikeyoucancomeandmeetmeonthewayback.”
“Oh,youdoeverythingyoucantohurtme.Itlooksasifyouwelcomedanopportunityofbeingcruel.”
“Howunreasonableyouare,Bertha.Can’tyouseethatI’minahurry,andIhaven’tgottimetosaunteralongandchatteraboutthebuttercups.”
“Well,let’sdrivein.”
“That’simpossible.Themareisn’twell,andtheponyhadaharddayyesterdayhemustrestto-day.”
“It’ssimplybecauseyoudon’twantmetocome.It’salwaysthesame,dayafterday.Youinventanythingtogetridofme.”
Sheburstintotears,knowingthatwhatshesaidwasunjust,butfeelingnotwithstandingextremelyill-used.Edwardsmiledwithirritatinggoodtemper.
“You’llbesorryforwhatyou’vesaidwhenyou’vecalmeddown,andthenyou’llwantmetoforgiveyou.”
Shelookedup,flushing.“YouthinkI’machildandafool.”
“No,Ijustthinkyou’reoutofsortsto-day.”
Thenhewentout,whistling,andsheheardhimgiveanordertothegardenerinhisusualmanner,ascheerfulasifnothinghadhappened.Berthaknewthathehadalreadyforgottenthelittlescene.Nothingaffectedhisgoodhumour.Shemightweep,shemighttearherheartout(metaphorically),andbangitonthefloor,Edwardwouldnotbeperturbedhewouldstillbeplacid,good-tempered,forbearing.Hardwords,hesaid,brokenobody’sbones—“Womenarelikechickens,whentheycluckandcacklesittightandtakenonotice!”
OnhisreturnEdwardappearednottoseethathiswifewasoutoftemper.Hisspiritswerealwaysequable,andhewasanunobservantperson.Sheansweredhiminmono-syllables,buthechatteredaway,delightedathavingdrivenagoodbargainwithamaninBlackstable.Berthalongedforhimtoremarkuponherconditionsothatshemightburstoutwithreproaches,butEdwardwashopelesslydense—orelsehesawandwasunwillingtogivehera