‚ÄúIt‚Äôs wrong to treat her as you do. You make her an equal. Her room is one of the best and filled with books and bric-a-brac. She sometimes eats with you‚ÅÝ‚Äîis your companion, in fact.‚Äù
“What of it? She loves to read, and I guide her while she keeps me up on the latest stuff. She can talk much better than many of my friends and then she piques my curiosity: she’s a sort of intellectual sauce that stirs my rapidly failing mental appetite. I think that as soon as I can make up my mind to spare her, I’ll take her to France and marry her off in the colonies.”
“Well, that’s possible; but one doesn’t easily give up good servants. By the way, I learn from Miss Smith that the boy, Bles Alwyn, in whom Zora was so interested, is a clerk in the Treasury Department at Washington.”
‚ÄúIndeed! I‚Äôm going to Washington this winter; I‚Äôll look him over and see if he‚Äôs worth Zora‚ÅÝ‚Äîwhich I greatly doubt.‚Äù
Mrs. ¬ÝCresswell pursed her lips and changed the subject.
“Have you seen the Easterlys?”
‚ÄúThe ladies left their cards‚ÅÝ‚Äîthey are quite impossible. Mr. ¬ÝEasterly calls this afternoon. I can‚Äôt imagine why, but he asked for an appointment. Will you go South with Mr. ¬ÝCresswell? I‚Äôm glad to hear he‚Äôs entering politics.‚Äù
‚ÄúNo, I shall do some early house hunting in Washington,‚Äù said Mrs. ¬ÝCresswell, rising as Mr. ¬ÝEasterly was announced.