"I'm much obliged to you."
"Yes, you seem to be!" cried the Countess with a mocking laugh.
"Perhaps you are-perhaps you're not. You don't take it as I should
have thought."
"How should I take it?" Isabel asked.
"Well, I should say as a woman who has been made use of" Isabel made
no answer to this; she only listened, and the Countess went on.
"They've always been bound to each other; they remained so even
after she broke off-or he did. But he has always been more for her
than she has been for him. When their little carnival was over they
made a bargain that each should give the other complete liberty, but
that each should also do everything possible to help the other on. You
may ask me how I know such a thing as that. I know it by the way
they've behaved. Now see how much better women are than men! She has
found a wife for Osmond, but Osmond has never lifted a little finger
for her. She has worked for him, plotted for him, suffered for him;
she has even more than once found money for him; and the end of it
is that he's tired of her. She's an old habit; there are moments
when he needs her, but on the whole he wouldn't miss her if she were
removed.
Pages:
939
940
941
942
943
944
945
946
947
948
949
950
951
952
953
954
955
956
957
958
959
960
961
962
963