She
became, in her absurdly ineffectual little way, surly and defiant. She
took to going about openly with her chorus-man, sharing his seat with
him on the train, letting him carry her bag for her on the way to the
hotel; and her manner toward Rose, when any of these manifestations fell
beneath her eye, was one of uneasy challenge. Let Rose just try to
remonstrate with her if she dared! She no longer came back to the hotel
with Rose after the performances, took to turning up at their room at
hours that grew steadily later and more outrageous, and while at first
she stole in very quietly, undressed in the dark and tried to creep into
bed without awakening her, she grew rapidly more brazen about it; turned
on the light and undressed before the mirror, talked elaborately about
nothing and laughed her high nervous little laugh without occasion.
It was not a lack of daring that kept Rose from asking the questions
that were so patently waiting to be answered, or from making the
remonstrances that Dolly's behavior so definitely invited.
Pages:
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790