Thered—hairedgirlthresheddistressfullyacrossthesheets。’It’stoohottosleep，’shemoaned；andtheinterruptionjarred。
Exactlythesameway。ThenshewoulddivideheryearsbetweenthelittlestudioinEnglandandKami’sbigstudioatVitry—sur—Marne。No，shewouldgotoanothermaster，whoshouldforceherintothesuccessthatwasherright，ifpatienttoilanddesperateendeavourgaveonearighttoanything。Dickhadtoldherthathehadworkedtenyearstounderstandhiscraft。Shehadworkedtenyears，andtenyearswerenothing。Dickhadsaidthattenyearswerenothing，——butthatwasinregardtoherselfonly。Hehadsaid——thisverymanwhocouldnotfindtimetowrite——thathewouldwaittenyearsforher，andthatshewasboundtocomebacktohimsoonerorlater。Hehadsaidthisintheabsurdletteraboutsunstrokeanddiphtheria；andthenhehadstoppedwriting。Hewaswanderingupanddownmoonlitstreets，kissingcooks。Shewouldliketolecturehimnow，——notinhernightgown，ofcourse，butproperlydressed，severelyandfromaheight。Yetifhewaskissingothergirlshecertainlywouldnotcarewhethershelecturehimornot。Hewouldlaughather。Verygood。
Shewouldgobacktoherstudioandpreparepicturesthatwent，etc。，etc。
Themill—wheelofthoughtswungroundslowly，thatnosectionofitmightbeslurredover，andthered—hairedgirltossedandturnedbehindher。
MaisieputherchininherhandsanddecidedthattherecouldbenodoubtwhateverofthevillainyofDick。Tojustifyherself，shebegan，unwomanly，toweightheevidence。Therewasaboy，andhehadsaidhelovedher。Andhekissedher，——kissedheronthecheek，——byayellowsea—poppythatnoddeditsheadexactlylikethemaddeningdryroseinthegarden。Thentherewasaninterval，andmenhadtoldherthattheylovedher——justwhenshewasbusiestwithherwork。Thentheboycameback，andattheirverysecondmeetinghadtoldherthathelovedher。Thenhehad————Buttherewasnoendtothethingshehaddone。Hehadgivenherhistimeandhispowers。HehadspokentoherofArt，housekeeping，technique，teacups，theabuseofpicklesasastimulant，——thatwasrude，——sablehair—brushes，——hehadgivenherthebestinherstock，——sheusedthemdaily；hehadgivenheradvicethatsheprofitedby，andnowandagain——alook。Suchalook！Thelookofabeatenhoundwaitingforthewordtocrawltohismistress’sfeet。Inreturnshehadgivenhimnothingwhatever，except——hereshebrushedhermouthagainsttheopen—worksleevefhernightgown——theprivilegeofkissingheronce。Andonthemouth，too。Disgraceful！Wasthatnotenough，andmorethanenough？andifitwasnot，hadhenotcancelledthedebtbynotwritingand——probablykissingothergirls？