Complete Project Gutenberg William Dean Howells Works

rooms?" asked my wife

the street to me as I came up f

said boldly, if so

have gone to the States if the

, unless Kendricks

there? Mr. Kendricks? If

t," said I, beginning to laugh, a

ly never forgive you. And I'm in

Couldn't Kendricks come to Saratoga as well as we? He's here lo

's enough. I never knew of anything so perfectly p

him

; about M

his eyes once, but I caught it away again in time. H

ing here t

ed if h

'm not sure that she's worth it. I wish some commoner person had happened along. Kendricks

quite as good as Kendricks. I believe she's taller, and though he's pretty good-looking, I prefer her style of beauty. I dare say his family i

you talk as if it were

u THINK

ng, and we won't talk any more, please

t talk, I c

talk th

en, he di

aceful, refined, superior man like Mr. Kendricks throw away his time upon her would be wicked, simply wicked. Let those people manage for themselves from this out. Of course you mustn't get them rooms at the Grand Union now, for he'd be seeing us there with them, and feel bound to pay her attention. You must try for them at the States, since the matter's been spoken of, or at Congress Hall. But there's no hurry. We must have time to thin

hat's nothing. He'll never think of it, and

evoutly, and

ntirely our affair, don't you see? And I don't want you to take a single step without me. I

re satisfactory about Saratoga than he had been in the morning even. Mrs. March catechised him,

ut Saratoga. And I have got

ut she ignor

delighted, and aske

eroine be

nt things, and that puts a great burden on the author. If you proclaim boldly at the start that sh

she said: "Well, she is a beauty. I do

ndricks demanded, and he f

. If you are very, very good, perhaps I may let you se

ou mean business? The

ity. "Do you think that I would offer you a heroine who

society. But I thought-I didn't know-but for the moment-Saratoga seems to be so treme

e was from Bosto

eg your

d she apparently enjoyed his confusion, no less

I said: "I discovered this heroine myself, Ke

, Ba

for me. I can't let her impose on you. This heroine is no more in society than she is from

you were hinting at

t it a pure figment

nches, teas, dinners, picnics, hops-and going back to De Witt Point with a dozen offers of marriage. That's the kind of work the imagination does. But this simple a

e flung out the whole fact with a rapidity of utterance that would have left far behind any attempt of mine. But I made n

to me-"is to load ourselves up with these two impossible people, to go their

e that his fancy was beginning to play with the sit

Mrs. March, taking a litt

ther the girl is interesti

ry shy, and of course she wouldn't show out her

bel!" I p

rverse woman persisted. "She

I jeered at this com

tient to judge fo

to call upon them thi

rc

you in your generous conspiracy, Mrs. March, to the best of my

her beautiful

rything, so that as long as she stays in Saratoga she shall see lif

in his turn. "We will make it reali

asuist! You had bett

s Apologia about

pery round the corner of the piazza from where we were sitting,

. March. "May I present our friend Mr.

e apparent interest in my conversation than she had yet shown, while Kendricks very properly devoted himself to the other ladies. Both his eyes were on them, but I felt that he had a third somehow upon her, and that the smallest fact of her beauty and grace was not lost upon him. I knew that her rich, tender voice was doing its wo

leave of Mrs. March, with a high hand-shake, which had then lately come in,

ntion not lost on his quick intelligence, "that you're goin

shall remember THAT