Hattie! How ashamed he was of that silly pursuit! For all he knew, Hattie was innocent. She had never bad-mouthed his wife or the fact that he was married. She had never suggested anything inappropriate, at least for her age. Young people were more touchy and flirtatious, and she claimed no moral or religious code.
Those young people and their sinful open-mindedness and touchy-ness (again Hattie gets this trait nailed to her, as though having quirks == character)
