"Yes;--you are; but I don't love you the less on that account."
"I will never doubt it again."
"No;--do not; and, for me, I will not say another word, whether you
choose to heave coals or not. You shall do as you please. I meant to
be very wise;--I did indeed."
"You are the grandest girl that ever was made."
"I do not want to be grand at all, and I never will be wise any more.
Only do not frown at me and look savage." Then she put up her hand
to smooth his brow. "I am half afraid of you still, you know. There.
That will do. Now let me go, that I may tell my aunt. During the last
two months she has been full of pity for poor Lord Chiltern."
"It has been poor Lord Chiltern with a vengeance!" said he.
"But now that we have made it up, she will be horrified again at all
your wickednesses. You have been a turtle dove lately;--now you will
be an ogre again. But, Oswald, you must not be an ogre to me."
As soon as she could get quit of her lover, she did tell her tale to
Lady Baldock. "You have accepted him again!" said her aunt, holding
up her hands. "Yes,--I have accepted him again," replied Violet.
"Then the responsibility must be on your own shoulders," said her
aunt; "I wash my hands of it." That evening, when she discussed the
matter with her daughter, Lady Baldock spoke of Violet and Lord
Chiltern, as though their intended marriage were the one thing in the
world which she most deplored.
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