A world in which her interest strangely persisted.
"What did you wear at the country club dance last night?" she would
ask.
"A rose-colored chiffon over yellow. It gives the oddest effect,
like an Ophelia rose."
Or:
"At the Mainwarings? George or Albert?"
"The Alberts."
"Did they ever have any children?"
One day she told her about not going to Newport, and was surprised
to see Elinor troubled.
"Why won't you go? It is a wonderful house."
"I don't care to go away, Aunt Nellie." She called her that sometimes.
Elinor had knitted silently for a little. Then:
"Do you mind if I say something to you?"
"Say anything you like, of course."
"I just--Lily, don't see too much of Louis Akers. Don't let him
carry you off your feet. He is good-looking, but if you marry him,
you will be terribly unhappy."
"That isn't enough to say, Aunt Nellie," she said gravely. "You
must have a reason."
Elinor hesitated.
"I don't like him. He is a man of very impure life."
"That's because he has never known any good women." Lily rose
valiantly to his defense, but the words hurt her. "Suppose a good
woman came into his life? Couldn't she change him?"
"I don't know," Elinor said helplessly.
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