found out that Anna was talking in her sleep, a thing that was
mysterious to Rosalie and frightening. The room of Flora and Hilda,
adjoined Anna's and often at night, when Rosalie was awakened by
Anna undressing and lay watching her at her immense prayers, the
chattering voices of Flora and Hilda could be heard through the
wall and shrieks of high laughter. At that, Anna's shoulders used
to shudder beneath her nightgown and she used to twist herself lower
on her knees. For some reason this also used rather to frighten
Rosalie.

Sometimes, but very seldom, Flora and Hilda used to quarrel;
sometimes, and more often, Hilda and Anna; nearly every day, as it
seemed to Rosalie, Anna and Flora. Rosalie got to dislike these
quarrels very much. They went on and on and on; that was the
disturbing unpleasantness of them. The parties to them would sit
in a room and simply keep it up forever, not arguing all the time,
but between long pauses suddenly coming out with things at one
another; or they wouldn't speak to one another sometimes for days
together, and all sorts of small enterprises of Rosalie's were
interfered with by these ruptures of relations. Innumerable things
in Rosalie's life seemed to her to depend on the mutual good will
of two quarrellers; many books, some old toys, walks, combined games
with Carlo who was Anna's and Rover who was Flora's; innumerable
delights with such seemed to be unexpectedly stopped because of
"Oh, no, if you prefer to be with Anna you can stay with Anna";
or, "Oh, no. If you like Flora's paints so much you can use Flora's
brushes; these are my brushes." A quarrel would in any case produce
a strained atmosphere in which everything became unnatural and this
strained atmosphere went on and on and on.