Page 334 - the-portrait-of-a-lady

forward a little, his elbows on the edge of the arms and his
hands interlocked.
‘She’s going to give me some gloves,’ said Pansy.
‘You needn’t tell that to every one, my dear,’ Madame
Merle observed.
‘You’re very kind to her,’ said Osmond. ‘She’s supposed to
have everything she needs.’
‘I should think she had had enough of the nuns.’
‘If we’re going to discuss that matter she had better go
out of the room.’
‘Let her stay,’ said Madame Merle. ‘We’ll talk of some-
thing else.’
‘If you like I won’t listen,’ Pansy suggested with an ap-
pearance of candour which imposed conviction.
‘You may listen, charming child, because you won’t
understand,’ her father replied. The child sat down, defer-
entially, near the open door, within sight of the garden, into
which she directed her innocent, wistful eyes; and Mr. Os-
mond went on irrelevantly, addressing himself to his other
companion. ‘You’re looking particularly well.’
‘I think I always look the same,’ said Madame Merle.
‘You always are the same. You don’t vary. You’re a won-
derful woman.’
‘Yes, I think I am.’
‘You sometimes change your mind, however. You told
me on your return from England that you wouldn’t leave
Rome again for the present.’
‘I’m pleased that you remember so well what I say. That
was my intention. But I’ve come to Florence to meet some

334 The Portrait of a Lady