see here, Mercedes," said Mrs. Talcott, rising and fixing an
acute gaze upon her, "don't you go and make things worse than they are.
Don't you go interfering between Karen and her husband. The first move's
got to come from them. I don't trust you round the corner where your
vanity comes in, and I guess what you've got in your mind now is that
you'd like to make it out to your friends how you've tried to reconcile
Karen and her husband after he's treated you so bad. If you want to tell
Karen that he was right in all the things he believed about you and that
this isn't the first time by a long shot that you've wrecked people with
your jealousy, and that he loves her ten times more than you do, that's
a different thing, and I'll stand by you through it. But I won't have
you meddling any more with those two poor young things, so you may as
well take it in right here."

Madame von Marwitz's good humour fell away. "And for you, may I ask you
kindly to mind your own business?" she demanded.

"I'll make this affair of Karen's my business if you ain't real careful,
Mercedes," said Mrs. Talcott, standing solid and thick and black, in the
centre of the room. "Yes, you'd better go slow and sure or you'll find
there are some things I can't put up with. This affair of Karen has made
me feel pretty sick, I can tell you. I've seen you do a sight of mean
things in your life, but I don't know as I've seen you do a meaner. I
guess," Mrs. Talcott continued, turning her eyes on the evening sea
outside, "it would make your friends sit up--all these folks who admire
you so much--if they could know a thing or two you've done."

"Leave the room," said Madame von Marwitz, now raising herself on her
elbow and pointing to the door. "Leave the room at once. I refuse to lie
here and be threatened and insulted and brow-beaten by you. Out of my
sight."

Mrs. Talcott looked at the sea for a moment longer, in no provocative
manner, but rather as if she had hardly heard the words addressed to
her; and then she looked at Mercedes, who, still raised on her elbow,
still held her arm very effectively outstretched. This, too, was no
doubt a scene to which she was fully accustomed.

"All right," she said, "I'm going." She moved towards the door. At the
door she halted, turned and faced Madame von Marwitz again. "But don't
you forget, Mercedes Okraska," she said, "that I'll make it my affair if
you ain't careful."

CHAPTER XXXIV

Karen, during