“Yes, sir,” he would exclaim, interrupting the narrative, “that’s just it. That’s just what I would have done if I had been in his place. Come, this chap knows what he’s writing about⁠—not like that Middleton ass, with his Diana s and Amazing Marriage s.”

Occasionally the Jadwins entertained. Laura’s husband was proud of his house, and never tired of showing his friends about it. Laura gave Page a “coming-out” dance, and nearly every Sunday the Cresslers came to dinner. But Aunt Wess’ could, at first, rarely be induced to pay the household a visit. So much grandeur made the little widow uneasy, even a little suspicious. She would shake her head at Laura, murmuring: