下载辰思小说免费APP
Whatwouldyoudoifyoulikedtwopeople，bothofthemtremendously，andyoucouldn’ttellwhichmost？“
“Ishouldgoonlikingthem——Ishouldwaitandsee。Whynot？“
“Butonehastomakeupone’smind，“saidEvelyn。“Orareyouoneofthepeoplewhodoesn’tbelieveinmarriagesandallthat？
Lookhere——thisisn’tfair，Idoallthetelling，andyoutellnothing。
Perhapsyou’rethesameasyourfriend“——shelookedathimsuspiciously；
“perhapsyoudon’tlikeme？“
“Idon’tknowyou，“saidHewet。
“IknowwhenIlikeapersondirectlyIseethem！IknewIlikedyoutheveryfirstnightatdinner。Ohdear，“shecontinuedimpatiently，“whatalotofbotherwouldbesavedifonlypeoplewouldsaythethingstheythinkstraightout！I’mmadelikethat。Ican’thelpit。“
“Butdon’tyoufinditleadstodifficulties？“Hewetasked。
“That’smen’sfault，“sheanswered。“Theyalwaysdragitin-love，Imean。“
“Andsoyou’vegoneonhavingoneproposalafteranother，“
saidHewet。
“Idon’tsupposeI’vehadmoreproposalsthanmostwomen，“
saidEvelyn，butshespokewithoutconviction。
“Five，six，ten？“Hewetventured。
Evelynseemedtointimatethatperhapstenwastherightfigure，butthatitreallywasnotahighone。
“Ibelieveyou’rethinkingmeaheartlessflirt，“sheprotested。
“ButIdon’tcareifyouare。Idon’tcarewhatanyonethinksofme。
Justbecauseone’sinterestedandlikestobefriendswithmen，andtalktothemasonetalkstowomen，one’scalledaflirt。“
“ButMissMurgatroyd——“
“Iwishyou’dcallmeEvelyn，“sheinterrupted。
“Aftertenproposalsdoyouhonestlythinkthatmenarethesameaswomen？“
“Honestly，honestly，——howIhatethatword！It’salwaysusedbyprigs，“
criedEvelyn。“HonestlyIthinktheyoughttobe。That’swhat’ssodisappointing。Everytimeonethinksit’snotgoingtohappen，andeverytimeitdoes。“
“ThepursuitofFriendship，“saidHewet。“Thetitleofacomedy。“
“You’rehorrid，“shecried。“Youdon’tcareabitreally。
YoumightbeMr。Hirst。“
“Well，“saidHewet，“let’sconsider。Letusconsider——“Hepaused，becauseforthemomenthecouldnotrememberwhatitwasthattheyhadtoconsider。Hewasfarmoreinterestedinherthaninherstory，forasshewentonspeakinghisnumbnesshaddisappeared，andhewasconsciousofamixtureofliking，pity，anddistrust。
“You’vepromisedtomarrybothOliverandPerrott？“heconcluded。
“Notexactlypromised，“saidEvelyn。“Ican’tmakeupmymindwhichI
reallylikebest。OhhowIdetestmodernlife！“sheflungoff。
“ItmusthavebeensomucheasierfortheElizabethans！IthoughttheotherdayonthatmountainhowI’dhavelikedtobeoneofthosecolonists，tocutdowntreesandmakelawsandallthat，insteadoffoolingaboutwithallthesepeoplewhothinkone’sjustaprettyyounglady。ThoughI’mnot。Ireallymight_do_something。“
Shereflectedinsilenceforaminute。Thenshesaid:
“I’mafraidrightdowninmyheartthatAlfredPerrot_won’t_do。
He’snotstrong，ishe？“
“Perhapshecouldn’tcutdownatree，“saidHewet。“Haveyounevercaredforanybody？“heasked。
“I’vecaredforheapsofpeople，butnottomarrythem，“shesaid。
“IsupposeI’mtoofastidious。AllmylifeI’vewantedsomebodyI
couldlookupto，somebodygreatandbigandsplendid。Mostmenaresosmall。“
“Whatd’youmeanbysplendid？“Hewetasked。“Peopleare——
nothingmore。“
Evelynwaspuzzled。
“Wedon’tcareforpeoplebecauseoftheirqualities，“
hetriedtoexplain。“It’sjustthemthatwecarefor，“——
hestruckamatch——“justthat，“hesaid，pointingtotheflames。
“Iseewhatyoumean，“shesaid，“butIdon’tagree。IdoknowwhyIcareforpeople，andIthinkI’mhardlyeverwrong。Iseeatoncewhatthey’vegotinthem。NowIthinkyoumustberathersplendid；
butnotMr。Hirst。“
Hewletshookhishead。
“He’snotnearlysounselfish，orsosympatheti
