Read Online Camilla by Madeleine L'Engle - Free Book Online Page A

pushed away by the lovely warmth, and I couldn’t keep a smile from starting in my eyes and then spreading all over my face the way the warm feeling had spread all over my body.
    When I was little I had often heard people say (when they thought I couldn’t hear), “What a pity that Camilla looks so like her father instead of Rose.” And people were always talking about how beautiful Mother was, but they had never called me a beautiful child. I had thought during thepast winter that I must be getting prettier, partly from my own mirror and partly from the way Mother looked at me, pleased, and at the same time wistful and unhappy, as though my changing from the ugly duckling must somehow be taking something from her. But to have Frank say it out loud for me, that I was beautiful, made me dizzy with pleasure.
    And then Frank said, “Luisa’s ugly as a mud fence, isn’t she?”
    I stood up furiously and cried, “She is not! She’s the most nice-looking person I know!” And I wanted to fly to wherever Luisa was sitting by herself in the movies and put my arms around her and protect her from Frank’s words.
    â€œWhat a little tiger,” Frank said. “I didn’t mean any harm to your precious Luisa. After all, she’s my sister and I’m fond of her even if half the time I’d like to kill her. You should hear the things she says about you sometimes.”
    â€œWhat does she say?”
    â€œOh—she talks.”
    â€œAbout what?”
    â€œYour mother, for instance.”
    â€œWhat does she say about Mother?”
    â€œWell, I suppose it’s true,” Frank said. “We seem to love our parents no matter what they’re like, even when we hate them.”
    â€œBut what does Luisa say about Mother?” My voice was fierce.
    â€œI shouldn’t have started this,” Frank said. “But I don’t like people who start things and then back out. She just said once that your mother seems—well, foolish and childish, and that she thinks she must always have been that way, and not just lately. Of course, Cam, you know Lu wouldn’t talk aboutanything like this to anybody but me. We fight a lot but we talk too.”
    â€œI guess Mother’s always been childish,” I said slowly, still thinking over his first words. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
    â€œWell, just that Luisa doesn’t understand how you used to adore your mother so.”
    â€œI’ve told her,” I said to Frank with angry patience. “I’ve told her again and again. We used to have such fun together. Like two kids. I think it was because Mother
was
childish that we had so much fun. She really liked playing with me, tea parties and make-believe. She was really more fun, she could think of more things to do, than other kids. And we’d tell each other all kinds of things. Now it’s different. When we talk to each other it’s different. We tell each other different kinds of things. We’re not the same people.”
    â€œLuisa says she’s very pretty.”
    â€œThat’s changed too,” I said. “She used to look like a princess in a fairy tale, and now that’s gone. I suppose she’s still beautiful, but it’s different.”
    â€œListen, I’m hungry,” Frank said suddenly. “Have you eaten?”
    â€œNo.” I was grateful to him for changing the subject.
    â€œWe could go back to the apartment and dig something out of the icebox, only I’m afraid Mona’ll still be there, and Luisa’ll come blundering in anytime now, anyhow.” He fished in his pockets. “I’ve got about a dollar. That’ll give us each a hamburger and a milkshake. Wish I hadn’t wasted a quarter on that putrid movie.”
    â€œI can pay for mine,” I said.
    Frank put the coins back into his pocket and then he tookhis hands and put them on my