Lily was acutely aware of her own part in this drama of innuendo: she knew the exact quality of the amusement the situation evoked.

The crude forms in which her friends took their pleasure included a loud enjoyment of such complications: the zest of surprising destiny in the act of playing a practical joke.

Lily knew well enough how to bear herself in difficult situations.

She had, to a shade, the exact manner between victory and defeat: every insinuation was shed without an effort by the bright indifference of her manner.

But she was beginning to feel the strain of the attitude; the reaction was more rapid, and she lapsed to a deeper self-disgust.
As was always the case with her, this moral repulsion found a physical outlet in a quickened distaste for her surroundings.