Beta Book

"
And Verty smiled.
Fanny burst into a roar of laughter; Redbud blushed; Ralph looked with
astonishment at the plain-spoken Verty.
"You know that was a story," said he, simply.
Everybody remained silent for a moment, and then the silence was
broken by Ralph, who cried, laughing:
"I'll back you, friend Verty! every word of it!"
"You, sir!" cried Fanny.
"Yes! I wonder if your divine creature--Sallianna by name--did not
tell me, ten minutes since, that you--yes, you, Miss Fanny!--were
desperately enamored of Mr. Verty!"
The whole party were so overcome by this ludicrous expose of Miss
Sallianna's schemes, that a laugh much louder than the first rang
through the garden; and when Miss Sallianna was descried sailing in
dignified meditation up and down the portico, her fan gently waving,
her head inclined to one side, her eyes fixed upon the sky, Mr. Ralph
Ashley entered into a neighboring mass of shrubbery, from which came
numerous choking sounds, and explosive evidences of overwhelming
laughter.


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