Miriam checked her astonishment, making a mental note for future contemplation of the spectacle of Mr. Gunner, or Miss Scott, following her to Ruscino’s. They had told Mrs. Bailey and talked to the doctors. … Spies; talking idle; maliciously picking over her secret life.
“ Dr. Winchester said he was worried half out of his senses about you.”
“Why not have said so?”
“You may be wondering,” Mrs. Bailey flushed a girlish pink, “why I come up today telling you all this. That’s just what I say. That’s just the worst of it. He never breathed a word to me till he went.”
Dr. Winchester gone … the others gone … of course . Next week would be August. They had all vanished away; out of the house, back to Canada. Dr. von Heber gone without a word. Perhaps he had been worried. They all had. That was why they had all been so nice and surrounding. … That was the explanation of everything. … They were brothers. Jealous brothers. The first she had had. This was the sort of thing girls had who had brothers. Cheek. If only she had known and shown them how silly they were.
“Lawk. I wish to goodness he’d come straight to me at once.”
“Well. It’s awfully sweet of them from their point of view. They were such awfully nice little men in their way.” … Why didn’t they come to me, instead of all this talk? They knew me well enough. All those long talks at night. And all the time they were seeing a foolish girl fascinated by a disreputable foreigner. How dare they?
“That’s what I say. I can’t forgive him for that. They’re all alike. Selfish.”
“All old men like Dr. Winchester are selfish. Selfish and weak. They get to think of nothing but their comforts. And keep out of everything by talk.”