Маленькая хозяйка большого дома / The Little Lady Of The Big House

And if you don’t, most likely you’ll hurt Dick’s feelings.”

“Oh, well, if so, I suppose I must,” Graham sighed. “If it’s the custom—well, it’s the custom, that’s all. But there are so many other nice girls around.”

Ernestine dropped her own eyes away, and flushed.

“Little Leo—the poet you remember last night,” she said. “He’s madly in love with Paula, too. And Terrence—the Irishman, you know—he’s mildly in love with her. They can’t help it[46 - they can’t help it – они ничего не могут с этим поделать], you see; and can you blame them?”

“She surely deserves it all,” Graham murmured, although hurt in that the epicurean anarchist who adores to be a loafer and a pensioner could even be in love with the Little Lady.

“She is most deserving of all men’s admiration,” he continued smoothly. “From the little I’ve seen of her she’s quite remarkable and most charming.”

“She’s my half-sister[47 - half-sister – сводная сестра],” Ernestine said, “But she’s so different.

She’s different from any girl I ever knew—though she isn’t exactly a girl. She’s thirty-eight, you know—”

“Oh,” Graham whispered.

The pretty young blonde looked at him in surprise and bewilderment.

“Yes!” she cried. “You will find we are very frank here. Everybody knows Paula’s age. She tells it herself. I’m eighteen—so, there. And now, how old are you?”

“As old as Dick,” he replied promptly.

“And he’s forty,” she laughed triumphantly. “Are you going to swim? The water will be dreadfully cold.”

Graham shook his head. “I’m going to ride with Dick.”

“Oh,” she protested, “some of his eternal green manures, or hillside terracing, or watering.”

“But he said something about swimming at five.”

Her face brightened joyously.

“Then we’ll meet at the pool. Paula said at five, too.”

As they parted under a long arcade, where his way led to the tower room for a change into riding clothes, she stopped suddenly and called:

“Oh, Mr.

Graham.”

He turned obediently.

“You really must not fall in love with Paula, you know.”

“I shall be very, very careful,” he said solemnly, although there was a twinkle in his eye as he concluded.

Nevertheless, as he went on to his room, he admitted to himself that the Paula Forrest charm had already reached him.