‚ÄúSit down,‚Äù repeated Miss Smith harshly. ‚ÄúMary Taylor, you are a fool. You are not foolish, for the foolish learn; you are simply a fool. You will never learn; you have blundered into this life work of mine and well nigh ruined it. Whether I can yet save it God alone knows. You have blundered into the lives of two loving children, and sent one wandering aimless on the face of the earth and the other moaning in yonder chamber with death in her heart. You are going to marry the man that sought Zora‚Äôs ruin when she was yet a child because you think of his aristocratic pose and pretensions built on the poverty, crime, and exploitation of six generations of serfs. You‚Äôll marry him and‚ÅÝ‚Äî‚Äù
But Miss Taylor leapt to her feet with blazing cheeks.
“How dare you?” she screamed, beside herself.
“But God in heaven help you if you do,” finished Miss Smith, calmly.