The Portrait of A Lady by Henry James Page A

you mean to do with her?’’
    Mrs. Touchett hesitated a little. ‘‘I mean to ask your father to invite her to stay three or four weeks at Gardencourt.’’
    â€˜â€˜You needn’t stand on any such ceremony as that,’’ said Ralph. ‘‘My father will ask her as a matter of course.’’
    â€˜â€˜I don’t know about that. She is my niece; she is not his.’’
    â€˜â€˜Good Lord, dear mother; what a sense of property! That’s all the more reason for his asking her. But after that—I mean after three months (for it’s absurd asking the poor girl to remain but for three or four paltry weeks)—what do you mean to do with her?’’
    â€˜â€˜I mean to take her to Paris, to get her some clothes.’’
    â€˜â€˜Ah yes, that’s of course. But independently of that?’’
    â€˜â€˜I shall invite her to spend the autumn with me in Florence.’’
    â€˜â€˜You don’t rise above detail, dear mother,’’ said Ralph. ‘‘I should like to know what you mean to do with her in a general way.’’
    â€˜â€˜My duty!’’ Mrs. Touchett declared. ‘‘I suppose you pity her very much,’’ she added.
    â€˜â€˜No, I don’t think I pity her. She doesn’t strike me as a girl that suggests compassion. I think I envy her. Before being sure, however, give me a hint of what your duty will direct you to do.’’
    â€˜â€˜It will direct me to show her four European countries— I shall leave her the choice of two of them—and to give her the opportunity of perfecting herself in French, which she already knows very well.’’
    Ralph frowned a little. ‘‘That sounds rather dry—even giving her the choice of two of the countries.’’
    â€˜â€˜If it’s dry,’’ said his mother with a laugh, ‘‘you can leave Isabel alone to water it! She is as good as a summer rain, any day.’’
    â€˜â€˜Do you mean that she is a gifted being?’’
    â€˜â€˜I don’t know whether she is a gifted being, but she is a clever girl, with a strong will and a high temper. She has no idea of being bored.’’
    â€˜â€˜I can imagine that,’’ said Ralph; and then he added, abruptly, ‘‘how do you two get on?’’
    â€˜â€˜Do you mean by that that I am a bore? I don’t think Isabel finds me one. Some girls might, I know; but this one is too clever for that. I think I amuse her a good deal. We get on very well, because I understand her; I know the sort of girl she is. She is very frank, and I am very frank; we know just what to expect of each other.’’
    â€˜â€˜Ah, dear mother,’’ Ralph exclaimed, ‘‘one always knows what to expect of you! You have never surprised me but once, and that is to-day—in presenting me with a pretty cousin whose existence I had never suspected.’’
    â€˜â€˜Do you think her very pretty?’’
    â€˜â€˜Very pretty indeed; but I don’t insist upon that. It’s her general air of being some one in particular that strikes me. Who is this rare creature, and what is she? Where did you find her, and how did you make her acquaintance?’’
    â€˜â€˜I found her in an old house at Albany, sitting in a dreary room on a rainy day, reading a heavy book, and boring herself to death. She didn’t know she was bored, but when I told her, she seemed very grateful for the hint. You may say I shouldn’t have told her—I should have let her alone. There is a good deal in that; but I acted conscientiously; I thought she was meant for something better. It occurred to me that it would be a kindness to take her about and introduce her to the world. She thinks she knows a great deal of it—like most American girls; but like most American girls she is very much mistaken.