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"It's so old-fashioned," she said to Charles Burt, making him stop (which by itself he hated) on his way to talk to some one else She meant, or she tried to make herself think that she meant, that it was the picture and not her dress, that was old-fashionedAnd one word of praise, one word of affection from Charles would have made all the difference to her at the momentIf he had only said, "Mabel, you're looking charming to-night!" it would have changed her lifeBut then she ought to have been truthful and directCharles said nothing of the kind, of courseHe always saw through one, especially if one were feeling particularly mean, paltry, or feeble-minded "Mabel's got a new dress!" he said, and the poor fly was absolutely shoved into the middle of the saucerReally, he would like her to drown, she believedHe had no heart, no fundamental kindness, only a veneer of friendlinessMiss Milan was much more real, much kinderIf only one could feel that and stick to it, always"Why," she asked herself--replying to Charles much too pertly, letting him see that she was out of temper, or "ruffled" as he called it ("Rather ruffled?" he said and went on to laugh at her with some woman over there)--"Why," she asked herself, "can't I feel one thing always, feel quite sure that Miss Milan is right, and Charles wrong and stick to it, feel sure about the canary and pity and love and not be whipped all round in a second by coming into a room full of people?" It was her odious, weak, vacillating character again, always giving at the critical moment and not being seriously interested in conchology, etymology, botany, archeology, cutting up potatoes and watching them fructify like Mary Dennis, like Violet SearleHolman, seeing her standing there, bore down upon herOf course a thing like a dress was beneath MrsHolman's notice, with picasso cartier her family always tumbling downstairs or having the scarlet feverCould Mabel tell her if Elmthorpe was ever let for August and September? Oh, it was a conversation that bored her unutterably!--it made her furious to be treated like a house agent or a messenger boy, to be made use ofNot to have value, that was it, she thought, trying to grasp something hard, something real, while she tried to answer sensibly about the bathroom and the south aspect and the hot water to the top of the house