She had a special happiness in availing
herself of an opportunity which resulted in Elfrida's
receiving a letter from the editor of the _St. George's_
asking her for two or three articles on the American
Colony in Paris, and only very occasionally she recognized,
with a subtle thrill of disgust, that she was employing
diplomacy in every action, every word, almost every look
which concerned her friend. She asked herself then
despairingly how it could last and what good could come
of it, whereupon fifty considerations, armed with whips,
drove her on.
Perhaps the most potent of these was the consciousness
that in spite of it all she was not wholly successful,
that as between Elfrida and herself things were not
entirely as they had been. They were cordial, they were
mutually appreciative, they had moments of expansive
intercourse; but Janet could not disguise to herself the
fact that there was a difference, the difference between
fit and fusion. The impression was not a strong one,
but she half suspected her friend now and then of intently
watching her, and she could not help observing how reticent
the girl had become upon certain subjects that touched
her personally. The actress in Elfrida was nevertheless
constantly supreme, and interfered with the trustworthiness
of any single impression.
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