Explore "A Waif's Progress" by Rhoda Broughton on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
Too late the poor little stranger realized that even such truisms and commonplaces of conversation as the relations of climbing millionaires and smart women for their mutual weal had no place in the wretchedly limited conversational _répertoire_ of the well-brought-up young girl. It was a very flat and flagging conversation that replaced her lucid word-paintings, for which she, too late, felt that the Dower House schoolroom was not the place, and with a very unfeigned relief she received the message sent up by Mr. Tancred, a message of inquiry as to her readiness to depart.
_Readiness to depart! _ There could be little doubt as to that! The state of mind expressed in that hackneyed line, "Ready to go, but not afraid to stay," had certainly no reference to her; she was horribly afraid to stay.