deeper still.

"What people?"

"Bella has been telling me--;"

"Telling you what, my child? That people are stupid?"

Lucia sat down again in her old place, and pulled her mother back into
hers. Then with her two elbows resting on Mrs. Costello's lap, and her
red cheek hidden by her hands, she answered, with a comical sort of
disdain and half-affected anger,

"Mamma, just think. At Mrs. Bellairs' to-day, at dinner, Mr. Percy was
asking questions about what was going to be done to-morrow, and he did
not seem to think, Bella said, that the picnic would be much fun, but he
was greatly amused by the idea of dancing in a half-finished house, and
wanted to know where they would find enough ladies for partners; so Mr.
Bellairs said there were plenty of partners in the neighbourhood, and
pretty ones, too; and Mr. Percy made some speech about being already
quite convinced of the beauty of the Cacouna ladies. You know the kind
of thing a man would say when Mrs. Bellairs and Bella were there. But
Mr. Bellairs told him he had not yet seen a fair specimen; but that
there was a little half Spanish girl here who would show him what beauty
meant. Mamma, was it not dreadfully stupid of him?" And Lucia, in spite
of her indignation, could not restrain a laugh as she looked, half shy,
half saucy, into her mother's face.

Mrs. Costello laughed too; but there was as deep a flush on her cheek as
on her daughter's, and her heart throbbed painfully.