“Yes, and he seemed so fine and earnest. Laura, wh⁠—” Page adjusted a hairpin at the back of her head, and moved closer to Laura, her eyes on the floor. “Laura⁠—what do you suppose it did mean to him⁠—don’t you think it was foolish of him to talk like that?”

“Not at all,” Laura said, decisively. “If he said that he meant it⁠—meant that he cared a great deal for you.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean that!” shrieked Page. “But there’s a great deal more to Landry than I think we’ve suspected. He wants to be more than a mere money-getting machine, he says, and he wants to cultivate his mind and understand art and literature and that. And he wants me to help him, and I said I would. So if you don’t mind, he’s coming up here certain nights every week, and we’re going to⁠—I’m going to read to him. We’re going to begin with The Ring and the Book .”