Page:Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1903).djvu/109

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REBECCA
91

"you are exhibition enough by yourself, I should say. Was you exhibitin' your parasol?"

"The parasol was silly," confessed Rebecca, hanging her head; "but it's the only time in my whole life when I had anything to match it, and it looked so beautiful with the pink dress! Emma Jane and I spoke a dialogue about a city girl and a country girl, and it came to me just the minute before I started how nice it would come in for the city girl; and it did. I have n't hurt my dress a mite, aunt Mirandy."

"It's the craftiness and underhandedness of your actions that 's the worst," said Miranda coldly. "And look at the other things you 've done! It seems as if Satan possessed you! You went up the front stairs to your room, but you did n't hide your tracks, for you dropped your handkerchief on the way up. You left the screen out of your bedroom window for the flies to come in all over the house. You never cleared away your lunch nor set away a dish, and you left the side door unlocked from half past twelve to three o'clock, so 't anybody could 'a' come in and stolen what they liked!"

Rebecca sat down heavily in her chair as she heard the list of her transgressions. How could she have been so careless? The tears began to flow now as she attempted to explain sins that never could be explained or justified.