"Superstitious?"
"To succeed, it must be all me!"
"Well, if that will make it succeed!" Mrs. Gereth took back her
shilling, but she still kept the telegram. "As he's most probably not
there--"
"If he shouldn't be there," Fleda interrupted, "there will be no harm
done."
"If he 'shouldn't be' there!" Mrs. Gereth ejaculated. "Heaven help us,
how you assume it!"
"I'm only prepared for the worst. The Brigstocks will simply send any
telegram on."
"Where will they send it?"
"Presumably to Poynton."
"They'll read it first," said Mrs. Gereth.
"Read it?"
"Yes, Mona will. She'll open it under the pretext of having it repeated;
and then she'll probably do nothing. She'll keep it as a proof of your
immodesty."
"What of that?" asked Fleda.
"You don't mind her seeing it?"
Rather musingly and absently Fleda shook her head. "I don't mind
anything."
"Well, then, that's all right," said Mrs. Gereth as if she had only
wanted to feel that she had been irreproachably considerate. After this
she was gentler still, but she had another point to clear up. "Why have
you given, for a reply, your sister's address?"
"Because if he _does_ come to me he must come to me there. If that
telegram goes," said Fleda, "I return to Maggie's to-night."
Mrs. Gereth seemed to wonder at this. "You won't receive him here with
me?"
"No, I won't receive him here with you. Only where I received him
last--only there again." She showed her companion that as to that she
was firm.
But Mrs. Gereth had obviously now had some practice in following queer
movements prompted by queer feelings. She resigned herself, though she
fingered the paper a moment longer. She appeared to hesitate; then she
brought out: "You couldn't then, if I release you, make your message a
little stronger?"