Love Lightning Old Virgin
XLVI CHAPTER

Assuming that Grand Madame Dior had come to them to protect Caroline, Mr. Constantine had mistakenly judged her. Grand Mistress Dior had spent a glass of warm water, enjoying a pleasant chat with Mrs Stinchcombe, who was, and he now wants to return to Versailles to take Luke for a walk in the crescent-shaped garden located between the Upper and Lower Versailles. Unaccustomed to having silly fantasies, Mr. Constantine's fear of harming Caroline in the Pump Room never crossed his mind: and about the danger of the man's seduction of Caroline causing her to suffer, Grand Madam Dior thought this matter was just as ridiculous. While conversing with Mrs Stinchcombe, Grand Lady Dior tried to notice, from the corner of her eye, a brief conversation between Caroline and the famous female performer, and she was very sure her husband had let her anxiety as a brother defeat her common sense. She was about to concern herself during the afternoon by writing a soothing letter to her husband, and she said, when she and Caroline left the Pump Room, “I couldn't understand at all, Honey, what has caused Arthur to think so non-exceptively that thinking there is a man's unpleasant worries makes you a target of his attraction if that can be called attraction! I promise you, I intend to give him a hard rebuke for thinking that you, of all people, can cultivate a liking towards such an impolite and rude man!”

“Being bad and despicable, isn't it?” Caroline agreed.

“Oh, very bad! I could see that he had made you rude, and was really afraid that you would become angry, which would not surprise me, but that would obviously be a very inappropriate thing to do in the Pump Room. How unfortunate you are to be in contact with him! I'm sorry if I thought the sooner he got Cherry out of your house, the better he'd be for you. What makes it look so grim?”

“Denis Damitri,” replied Miss Dior, calmly, but with a light in her eyes that was hard to decipher.

“Denis Damitri?” Grand Madam Dior repeated, too surprised to notice the eye or a smile scratched at the corner of Miss Dior's mouth.

“What did he say?”

“Too many!” miss Dior said, grimacing wryly.

“I'm afraid he most likely managed to captivate Cherry, and although that possibility doesn't seem to worry Mr. Constantine too much, it's what made her anxious, and made him try to convey it to me just now, just now, it is a fact that Damitri had accompanied Cherry yesterday all the way from Versailles to Laura Place. It's unfortunate that some people see them, and if you've lived in Rouen, Majorie, you'll know it's really hot gossip!”

“But, of course, Caroline, it is perfectly permissible for a man to accompany a girl through the city, during the day, and with the maiden's maid to walk in the back, because I have no doubt the Cherry waiter followed her!” the Great Lady of Dior. “Well, it is common for a man to raise some young woman to his second wheeled train, or his four-wheeled race train, or any other racing vehicle that the man happens to drive! And, without the lady's maid!”

“Very permissible, dear, but not if the man is Denis Damitri! Well, she is known as a dangerous seducer, and badly, a fortune hunter who proved right

“Oh, jeez!” great Lady Dior said, surprised. “I know Arthur didn't like it at all when Damitri seduced you when the three of us were in Paris. Arthur said he was a fun-loving man: and I do remember him once saying he suspected Damitri was after a rich wife. I don't really respond to that because Arthur sometimes likes to say things he doesn't really want to say if he hates someone, and he never wants me to not accept it, or invite him to my parties. And, when last year he visited his grandmother and rode to Chateau to visit us as a sign of respect, Arthur greeted him very politely.”

“At that time, Arthur knew there was nothing to fear, I would not be affected by Damitri's ruse,” Caroline said, with a hint of cynicism. “She is accepted everywhere, even in Rouen! In part, this was due to the veneration of the old Lady Damitri: and in part because she was considered a cute babbler, whose presence could be relied upon to enliven the most drab party. For myself, although I could imagine a bit worse luck than being shackled to her, I liked her, I invited her to my own party, and I often danced with her in the Community. But, although in Arthur's opinion I don't really consider rules important, I make sure I don't see them too often so there's no reason for even the most critical critic to say I'm in close contact with them. Since I knew him well before I lived in Rouen, he was considered an old friend of mine, and as was his presence at my parties, the informal remarks between us were looked upon with delight. However, even if I am not a girl, and may be considered past the age of looking for a husband, I would be reluctant to drive with him, ride with him, or even talk to him. Not because I was unable to control his familiarity, but because I knew how many gossipers would start gossiping if I were seen chatting alone with him for too long. So, with the best desire to do so, I cannot blame Mr. Constantine for having insulted me.”

Caroline did not respond to this statement, but remembering her reprimanding Mr. Constantine was something she had never managed to do. He thought it might be better if he did not discuss the character of Mr. Constantine with his sister-in-law because he found the findings puzzling as much as he himself criticized the man's faults, he said, a huge urge to defend him came when others criticized the man. So, he shifted the subject by directing the attention of Big Lady Dior to a very pretty hat that was displayed on the window of a shop.

The rest of the journey was filled with exciting talk about all the latest habits in fashion, which lasted until they arrived at Upper Versailles, and Grand Mistress Dior saw her little son, who was a little girl, who was playing ball in the park with Miss Harrow. This made him exclaim, “Oh, look! Belevia has brought Luke to the park! How nice of a woman, Caroline!”

“I hope I kick him out!” caroline, really.

Grand Madam Dior was shocked. “Hope you kick him out? Oh, no, how can you say that, honey? I'm sure there's never been anyone more friendly and willing to help! You can't mean it!”

“I mean it. I find it very boring.”

Big Madame Dior thought about this for a moment, then said slowly, “She is not a fan of books, of course, and is not as intelligent, as you are. And, he likes to talk a lot, I admit. Arthur calls him a babbler, but men, you know, don't seem to like women who like to talk, and even so, Arthur himself knows he has many good qualities

“He gave it to me when I got here, with poor little Luke who was in a lot of pain from his toothache. He went with us to Mr. Westcott's practice, and actually held Luke's hand which unfortunately, I was unable to do when the doctor pulled out the tooth causing him pain.”

“My sister,” said Caroline, earnestly but eyes sparkling cunningly, “I have long wanted to give you a very precious gift and you have now shown me how I can do it! I'll give Belevia to you!”

“How can you make it up?” said Big Madame Dior with a laugh. “As if I would imagine taking him from you!”

Nothing else was spoken because Luke, at this moment, upon seeing his mother, ran to the fence to greet her. Big Lady Dior went to the park, and Caroline went in alone to the house. Cherry was spending the rest of the day with the Stinchcombe family, and since Mrs Cheltenham had promised to deliver Cherry back to Versailles just in time for dinner, she felt herself relieved of a sense of responsibility. He inevitably felt happy about it, for not only was the entertainment of a feisty seventeen-year-old girl a heavier responsibility than he had imagined, but what Mr. Constantine had told her made her realize a quiet time of contemplation was a very urgent need.

Unless he had completely misinterpreted Mr. Constantine's cryptic remarks in the Pump Room, he had no doubt the man had any intention of asking for his hand. It was a big mistake to say such a thought had never crossed his mind. It was once thought of, but only as a suspicion, which he was able to dispel from his mind without much difficulty. Now, after that suspicion has been proven to be true, she feels herself deeply shocked, and upset by the realization that her calmness has managed to be disturbed, and suffers from all the confusing uncertainty a girl experiences in her first season of socializing. She had been a single woman for so long that she was used to thinking of herself as being beyond the age of marriage, and even beyond the times of falling in love. It is surprising to find that it is suddenly a question worth doubting, and that this is a problem, because doubt makes him angry for no reason to himself, because he should, of course, be, mature enough and wise enough to know his own thoughts. But the sad truth is, he doesn't know. He told himself, in a rebuke way, that it should be clear to him that Mr. Constantine had absolutely no qualities except wealth, what was unattractive to him that could be expected of a man worthy of a woman who had received many suitors was almost all blessed with a handsome face, excellent manner of speech, polite manners, and good manners, and a great charm. None of these traits in Mr. Constantine Miss Dior smiled at the thought of making one of those traits the man's pride, and while still smiling, he said, it occurred to her mind that it might be the lack of flexibility in socialization that made Miss Dior captivated. It seemed absurd that this was the case, but there was no denying that it was not his most dazzling suitor who managed to attract his heart. He thought, had he not inherited the wealth to bear his own living, he might have received a proposal from a certain man, a man he liked, he said, and feeling confident that he would be a pleasant husband, but when the man did ask for it, he unhesitatingly refused and instead regretted his decision, he said, he was grateful that his circumstances did not force him to accept the proposal. Miss Dior felt pity, because the man was truly in love, and had put in so much effort in every conceivable way to get her attention. The only impact Miss Dior's insults seemed to have on the man made him double down on his efforts to please her.