"A pretty expression you have in your countenance," she went on, still gazing keenly, though not inimically--rather indeed pityingly--at Caroline. "Wonderfully self-supported you look, you solitude-seeking, wounded deer. Are you afraid Shirley will worry you if she discovers that you are hurt, and that you bleed?"
"I never do fear Shirley."
"But sometimes you dislike her; often you avoid her. Shirley can feel when she is slighted and shunned. If you had not walked home in the company you did last night, you would have been a different girl to-day. What time did you reach the rectory?"
"By ten."

"A pretty expression you have on your face," she went on, still gazing keenly and rather pityingly at Caroline. "Wonderfully self-supported you look, you solitude-seeking, wounded deer. Are you afraid Shirley will bother you if she discovers that you are hurt?"
"I never do fear Shirley."
"But sometimes you dislike her; often you avoid her. Shirley can feel when she is shunned. If you had not walked home in the company you did last night, you would have been a different girl today. What time did you reach the rectory?"
"By ten."
