`` Irene Howard could do it ; but it is not likely she will after the way she was insulted by our society . '' `` How did our society insult her ? '' asked Rilla , in what she called her ` cold-pale tone . ' Its coldness and pallor did not daunt Olive . `` You insulted her , '' she answered sharply . `` Irene told me all about it -- she was literally heart-broken . You told her never to speak to you again -- and Irene told me she simply could not imagine what she had said or done to deserve such treatment . That was why she never came to our meetings again but joined in with the Lowbridge Red Cross . I do not blame her in the least , and I , for one , will not ask her to lower herself by helping us out of this scrape . '' `` You do n't expect me to ask her ? '' giggled Amy MacAllister , the other member of the committee . `` Irene and I have n't spoken for a hundred years . Irene is always getting ` insulted ' by somebody . But she is a lovely singer , I 'll admit that , and people would just as soon hear her as Mrs. Channing . '' `` It would n't do any good if you did ask her , '' said Olive significantly . `` Soon after we began planning this concert , back in April , I met Irene in town one day and asked her if she would n't help us out . She said she 'd love to but she really did n't see how she could when Rilla Blythe was running the programme , after the strange way Rilla had behaved to her . So there it is and here we are , and a nice failure our concert will be . '' Rilla went home and shut herself up in her room , her soul in a turmoil . She would not humiliate herself by apologizing to Irene Howard !
Irene had been as much XXXXX the wrong as she had been ; and she had told such mean , distorted versions of their quarrel everywhere , posing as a puzzled , injured martyr .
about after as by for if in of that to