You should have been the lordly cavalier that
paid an extravagant sum for a worn-out shoe--that would have suited her
ideas; she expected it. And as you didn't--she did it herself in your
name. That's her way--reckless and calculating at the same time."
"Is there no one, then, that can win her?" I asked.
"Severity's what she wants," said the Doctor, evading the question.
"There's something wrong about it all; she has too free a hand; she can
do as she pleases, and have her own way all the time. People take
notice of her; no one ever disregards her; there is always something at
hand for her to work on with effect. Have you noticed the way I treat
her myself? Like a schoolgirl, a child; I order her about, criticise her
way of speaking, watch her carefully, and show her up now and again. Do
you think she doesn't understand it? Oh, she's stiff and proud, it hurts
her every time; but then again she is too proud to show it. But that's
the way she should be handled. When you came up here I had been at her
for a year like that, and it was beginning to tell; she cried with pain
and vexation; she was growing more reasonable. Then you came along and
upset it all. That's the way it goes--one lets go of her and another
takes her up again. After you, there'll be a third, I suppose--you never
know.
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