"Do you
know that you have been behaving in a shocking manner?"
"Now you are cross with me."
"Yes," I said, "infernally angry."
And I was. I expected to see her burst into tears. She did
nothing of the kind; only looked at me with irritating
demureness. She wore a red blouse and a grey skirt, and the
audacious high-heeled red slippers. I began to feel the return
of my early prejudice against her. Nobody so alluring could
possess a spark of virtue.
"You ought to be ashamed of yourself," said I. "I make many
allowances for your lack of knowledge of our Western customs, but
for a young lady to flirt with an ugly red-headed varlet of the
lower orders is reprehensible all the world over."
"He gave me dates and dried fruits with sugar all over them,"
said Carlotta.
"Stolen from his employer," I said. "I will have that young man
locked up in prison, and if you go on receiving his feloniously
obtained presents they will put you in prison too, and I shall be
delighted."
Carlotta maintained her demure expression and extracted from her
skirt pocket a very dirty piece of paper.
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