"
Miss Davis was startled. "Do I look as if I loved nobody?" she asked.
"A little," said Hetty.
"Then I must be wrong. It cannot be good to look as if one loved nobody.
At the same time it _is_ very necessary to curb all one's feelings.
Phyllis, for instance, would not respect me if she thought me what she
would call sentimental. And even Nell would perhaps smile at me as a
simpleton if she saw me looking for particular affection. Even you,
Hetty--you who think so much about love!--could I manage you at all if I
did not know how to look stern?"
"You could," said Hetty; "you could manage me better by smiling at me;
just try, Miss Davis. But oh, I forgot; I have got to be a governess
too, and perhaps I had better be hardened up."
Miss Davis was silent, thinking over Hetty's words. That this ardent
child found her "hardened up" was an unpleasant surprise to her; but she
was not above taking a hint even from one so young and faulty as Hetty.
She would try to be warmer, brighter with this girl. And then she
reflected sadly on the prospect before Hetty.
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