" That _she_ had not realised all
the consequences of accepting _him_ any more than she had realised the
consequences of her accepting Trenchard was obvious from the first.
She simply was ignorant of life, and at the same time wanted to cram
into her hands the full sense of it (as one crushes rose-leaves) as
quickly as possible. She admired Semyonov--it may be that she loved
him; but she certainly had not surrendered herself to him, and in her
lively ignorant way she was as strong as he.
During the first weeks of her engagement she was, as she had been at
her first arrival amongst us, as happy and light-hearted as a child.
She knew that we disapproved of her treatment of Trenchard, but she
thought that we must see, as she did, that "she had behaved in the
only possible way." Once again she was straight and honest to the
world--and she could behave now like a real friend of her John. That
strange irrational temper that she had shown during the Retreat had
now entirely disappeared. She approved of us all and wished us to
approve of her--which we, as we were Russians and could not possibly
dislike pleasant agreeable people whatever there might be against
them, speedily did.
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