'
'Topaz and diamonds! Oh!' And Henrietta, clasping it round her neck
and surveying herself by the candles Rose had lighted, said earnestly,
'Oh, I do hope he paid for it!' This was the first thought of Reginald
Mallett's daughter.
Rose was horrified into laughter, which seemed hysterically continuous
to Henrietta, and through it Rose cried tenderly, 'Oh, you poor child!
You poor child!'
Henrietta did not laugh. She said gravely, 'All the same, I'm glad I
had him for a father. Nobody but he would have chosen a thing like
this. He had such taste.' She looked at her aunt. 'I do hope I have
some taste, too.'
'I hope you have,' Rose said with equal gravity. She laughed no
longer. 'There are many kinds, and though he knew how to choose an
ornament, he made mistakes in other ways.'
Henrietta unclasped the necklace and laid it down. She looked, indeed,
remarkably like her father. Her eyes flashed above her angry mouth.
'You mean my mother!'
'No, Henrietta. How could I? I did not know your mother, and from the
little you have told us I believe she was too good for him.'
'How can I tell you more,' Henrietta protested, 'when I know what you
would be thinking? You would be thinking she was common. Aunt Caroline
does. She does! I don't know how she dare! No, I won't have the
necklace.'
'You must believe what I say, Henrietta. Your mother was not the only
woman in your father's life, and I was referring to the others.
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