"Joan!" And she put up her hand as though to ward off an unbelievable thought.
In an instant Joan was on her feet with her arms around the shoulders of the best friend she had, whose face had gone as white as stone.

"Oh, my dear," she said, "I'm sorry.

Forgive me.

I didn't mean that in the least, not in the very least.

It was only one of my cheap flippancies, said just to amuse myself and shock you.