The easy familiarity, born of long friendship
and perfect understanding, which Ethel showed toward Kent, Fred mistook
for indifference. His own sudden popularity had somewhat turned his
head, so that he failed to distinguish between the attentions shown to
the author and those bestowed upon the man, and constantly felt himself
to be making personal conquests when he was simply being lionized.
Mrs. Staggchase invited the guests for her luncheon before she spoke of
them to Miss Merrivale.
"I have asked Mrs. Bodewin Ranger," she explained, "although she is old
enough to be your grandmother, because she is the nicest old lady in
Boston, and it is a liberal education to meet her."
The other guests were Mrs. Frostwinch, Ethel Mott, and Elsie Dimmont.
"Elsie Dimmont," Mrs. Staggchase observed, "needs to be looked after.
She is either going to make a fool of herself by marrying that odious
Dr. Wilson or she is allowing herself to be made a fool of by him,
which is quite as bad."
Secretly Mrs. Staggchase, for all her Beauchester blood, had a good
deal of sympathy for the girl who was defying her family in receiving
the attentions of a man of no antecedents, although, having done the
same thing herself, she was the more strongly bound outwardly to
discountenance any such insubordination.
Guests may be selected on the principle of harmony of taste and
feeling, or simply with an eye to variety; in the present instance it
was distinctly the latter method which had obtained; and it was perhaps
to be regarded as no mean triumph of social civilization that a harmony
apparently so perfect resulted from the strange combination which the
hostess had brought about.
Pages:
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251