"What is there about me to pity ?" He smiled as he surveyed her, considering it.

Even people for whom smiling was difficult must have smiled at the idea of pitying Katie Jones--Katie, who looked so much as if the world existed that she might have the world.
But he looked with a different premise and saw a deeper thing.

The world might exist for her enjoyment, but it eluded her understanding.

And that was beginning to encroach upon the enjoyment.
She seemed to follow, and her divination stirred a singular emotion, possibly a more turbulent emotion than Katie Jones had ever known.
"It's all very well to pity me, but it's not a genuine pity--it's a jeering one.

If you're going to pity me, why don't you do it sincerely instead of scoffingly?
Is it my fault that I don't know anything about life?
What chance did I ever have to know anything real?
I wasn't educated.