But Lou was jolly and frank and offhanded, while Ruth was painfully shy and reserved, and that was the secret of the whole matter.
"Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1896 to 1901"
Lucy Maud Montgomery
"I suppose they have a baby by now," she said in an offhanded tone.
"Virgin Soil"
Ivan S. Turgenev
"The two ladies," he said, speaking with an emphasis which strove to cloak his annoyance at Stump's offhanded manner, "are Miss Fenshawe, granddaughter of the gentleman who owns this yacht, and her companion, Mrs. Haxton.
"The Wheel O' Fortune"
Louis Tracy