I was afraid you wouldn't like it, but you must try to understand that I was forced to play up to local sentiment.

English notions of what is becoming don't hold good here; you can't stop a man like Wilkinson with a supercilious look.

If I'd let the thing go, the boys would have thought his statements true, and the tale is bad enough to deal with." Helen gave him a steady look, but her color was high and her face was hard.
"But you know it isn't true!" "Of course," said Festing, with quiet scorn.

"All that the brute insinuated is absolutely false.

Bob's a fool, but he knows you, and I'm beginning to think he's a little in love with his wife." "Ah," said Helen, "I knew you knew.