"Oh, WHY--did they lock the doors!"
CHAPTER XXII
She had known none of the absolute horrors of life which were
possible in that underworld which was not likely to touch her own
existence in any form.
"Why," had argued Mademoiselle Valle, "should one fill a white
young mind with ugly images which would deface with dark marks and
smears, and could only produce unhappiness and, perhaps, morbid
broodings? One does not feel it is wise to give a girl an education
in crime. One would not permit her to read the Newgate Calendar
for choice. She will be protected by those who love her and what
she must discover she will discover. That is Life."
Which was why her first discovery that neither door could be
opened, did not at once fill her with horror. Her first arguments
were merely those of a girl who, though her brain was not inactive
pulp, had still a protected girl's outlook. She had been overwhelmed
by a sense of the awkwardness of her position and by the dread
that she would be obliged to disturb and, almost inevitably,
embarrass and annoy Lady Etynge. Of course, there had been some
bungling on the part of the impudent footman--perhaps actually at
the moment when he had given his sidelong leer at herself instead
of properly attending to what he was trying to do. That the bedroom
was locked might be the result of a dozen ordinary reasons.
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