All were darlings. And this
especial "perfect darling" appeared as well to be a "perfect
thirty-six."
The Earl was my undoing. At a critical point in the unfolding of the
plot there was talk of his having been connected with a scandal in St.
Petersburg. This he attempted to deny, and though I am unable to quote
the exact words of his denial, the sound of it lingers sweetly in my
memory. Nor would the exact words, could I give them, convey, in print,
the quality of what was said, for the Earl, and all the rest, spoke in
the soft, melodious tones of Mississippi.
"What you-all fussin' raound heah for, this mownin'?" That, perhaps,
conveys some sense of a line he spoke on entering.
And when, in reply, one of the others mentioned the scandal at St.
Petersburg, the flavor of the Earl's retort, as its cooing tones remain
with me, was this:
"Wha', honey! What you-all mean hintin' raound 'baout St. Petuhsbuhg? I
reckon you don' know what you talkin' 'baout! Ah nevuh was in that taown
in all ma bo'n days!"
What followed I am unable to relate, for the Earl's speech caused me to
become emotional, and my companion, after informing me severely that I
was making myself conspicuous, removed me from the chapel.
The auburn goddess was still on duty at the door as we went out.
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