\u201cWhat is the matter with you?\u201d asked Arobin that evening. \u201cI never found you in such a happy mood.\u201d Edna was tired by that time, and was reclining on the lounge before the fire.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t you know the weather prophet has told us we shall see the sun pretty soon?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, that ought to be reason enough,\u201d he acquiesced. \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t give me another if I sat here all night imploring you.\u201d He sat close to her on a low tabouret, and as he spoke his fingers lightly touched the hair that fell a little over her forehead. She liked the touch of his fingers through her hair, and closed her eyes sensitively.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of these days,\u201d she said, \u201cI\u2019m going to pull myself together for a while and think\u2014try to determine what character of a woman I am; for, candidly, I don\u2019t know. By all the codes which I am acquainted with, I am a devilishly wicked specimen of the sex. But some way I can\u2019t convince myself that I am. I must think about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t. What\u2019s the use? Why should you bother thinking about it when I can tell you what manner of woman you are.\u201d His fingers strayed occasionally down to her warm, smooth cheeks and firm chin, which was growing a little full and double.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, yes! You will tell me that I am adorable; everything that is captivating. Spare yourself the effort.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo; I shan\u2019t tell you anything of the sort, though I shouldn\u2019t be lying if I did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you know Mademoiselle Reisz?\u201d she asked irrelevantly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pianist? I know her by sight. I\u2019ve heard her play.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe says queer things sometimes in a bantering way that you don\u2019t notice at the time and you find yourself thinking about afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor instance?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, for instance, when I left her to-day, she put her arms around me and felt my shoulder blades, to see if my wings were strong, she said. \u2018The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. It is a sad spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhither would you soar?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not thinking of any extraordinary flights. I only half comprehend her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve heard she\u2019s partially demented,\u201d said Arobin.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe seems to me wonderfully sane,\u201d Edna replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m told she\u2019s extremely disagreeable and unpleasant. Why have you introduced her at a moment when I desired to talk of you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh! talk of me if you like,\u201d cried Edna, clasping her hands beneath her head; \u201cbut let me think of something else while you do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m jealous of your thoughts to-night. They\u2019re making you a little kinder than usual; but some way I feel as if they were wandering, as if they were not here with me.\u201d She only looked at him and smiled. His eyes were very near. He leaned upon the lounge with an arm extended across her, while the other hand still rested upon her hair. They continued silently to look into each other\u2019s eyes. When he leaned forward and kissed her, she clasped his head, holding his lips to hers.<\/p>\n
It was the first kiss of her life to which her nature had really responded. It was a flaming torch that kindled desire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":251,"menu_order":27,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[48],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-122","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","chapter-type-numberless"],"part":3,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/awakening\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/awakening\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/awakening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/awakening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/251"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/awakening\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/122\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":223,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/awakening\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/122\/revisions\/223"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/awakening\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/3"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/awakening\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/122\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/awakening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/awakening\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=122"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/awakening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=122"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/awakening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}