"You will not exact any penance?" She only looked at him and smiled. "I am going to put a penance on myself all the same. I can't congratulate your brother on his wooing over at Caversham, as I know nothing about it, but I will express some civil wish to him about things in general."
"Will that be a penance?"
"If you could look into my mind you'd find that it would. I'm full of fretful anger against him for half-a-dozen little frivolous things. Didn't he throw his cigar on the path? Didn't he lie in bed on Sunday instead of going to church?"
"But then he was travelling all the Saturday night."

"I am going to put a penance on myself all the same. I can't congratulate your brother on his wooing over at Caversham, but I will express some civil wish to him about things in general."
"Will that be a penance?"
"If you could look into my mind you'd find that it would. I'm full of fretful anger against him for half-a-dozen little things. 