human
It was the least we could do,
gpt
Excuse me, Sabina objected,
human
You would have been very unhappy, my dear child.
gpt
I do not know which would have been worse, said Sabina frankly.
human
They both hate me, and I hate them.
gpt
Dear me!
human
In our family, Sabina answered calmly,
gpt
I am sure your sister Clementina is far too religious to feel hatred for any one.
human
You do not know her! Sabina laughed, and looked at the ceiling.
gpt
She hates 'the wicked' with a mortal hatred!
human
Perhaps you mean that she hates wickedness, my dear,
gpt
Not at all! laughed the young girl.
human
She would like to destroy everybody who is not like her, and she would begin with her own family. She used to tell me that I was doomed to eternal flames because I loved my canary better than I loved her. I did. It was quite true. As for my brother, she said he was wicked, too. I quite believe he is, but she had a friendly understanding with him, because they used to make Signor Sassi get money for them both. In the end they got so much that there was nothing left. Her share all went to convents and extraordinary charities, and his went heaven knows where!
gpt
And yours?
human
I suppose it went to them too, like everything else, and to my mother, who spent a great deal of money. At all events, none of us have anything now. That is why I want to work.
gpt
It is an honourable impulse, no doubt,
human
You think I am too young, she said.
gpt
And I really know nothing, except bad French and dancing. I cannot even sew, at least, not very well, and I cannot cook. She laughed.
human
I once made some very good toast,
gpt
You must marry, said the Baroness.
human
You must make a good marriage.
gpt
No one will marry me, because I have no dowry,
human
Some men marry girls who have none. You are very pretty, you know.
gpt
So my mother used to tell me when she was in a good humour. But Clementina always said I was hideous, that my eyes were like a little pig's, quite inside my head, and that my hair was grey, like an old woman's, and that I was as thin as a grasshopper.
human
You are very pretty, the Baroness repeated with conviction;
gpt
I am afraid not! Sabina laughed.
human
We are none of us good, you know. Why should I be?
gpt
That is a flippant speech,
human
I do not feel flippant at all. I am very serious. I wish to earn my living.
gpt
But you cannot--
human
But I wish to,
gpt
Have you always done what you wished?
human
No, never. That is why I mean to begin at once. I am sure I can learn to be a maid, or to make hats, or feed babies with bottles. Many girls of eighteen can.