unkind nor meddlesome. He’s got a gold mine practically untouched, she thought, and I’ll convince him he can make ten times as much as he does. Jean, meanwhile, thought he had ended the discussion for all time.
Mimi, christened “Annette Angela Daquin” but thereafter known only as “Mimi,” was eleven when Mary Robertson entered Jean Daquin’s life. From the beginning Mimi had felt a barrier within herself arising against the overtures of friendship Mary Robertson made. There was no dislike which Mimi felt. Nor was there affection. Had Mimi analyzed her feelings towards this new and alien creature who had come, whirlwind-like, into their placid lives, she would have found indifference or perhaps passive acceptance of the newcomer as one of the vagaries of fate. This calm acceptance was in no small degree caused by Mimi’s realization that this new creature furnished a much needed stimulating influence on Jean. For Mimi was wise beyond her eleven years. So Mimi accepted her without audible protest even when Jean hinted Mary Robertson might come and take Margot’s place. …