the girl he remembered, Nicholas thought.
"My dear little Elizabeth," Mrs. Villines said, "there is positively nothing to be sorry for." She patted her arm, taking her cup of tea as she did so. "Let Nicholas give you his seat. He's been terribly selfish to make you sit here while all the time he's had a comfortable chair by the table."
"Perhaps I'd better." She glanced at him and stood when she saw him stand up. "Thank you," she said when he reached her side. "Someone must protect your aunt's china."
Nicholas was disappointed when the Willards left soon afterward. He turned to his aunt when they were gone. "I'm glad they're in London. Have they said how long they'll be here?"
"Likely until Amelia and Elizabeth are married."
"Elizabeth married? Don't be absurd, she's still a girl."
"She is just back from school," Mrs. Villines said on Elizabeth's behalf. "Give her time to adjust to London."
"Schoolgirls," said Nicholas, his tone expressing a full range of contempt for the limited charms of schoolgirls. "They giggle in a most annoying fashion."
"It was not Elizabeth I heard giggling."
"She restrained herself quite admirably from that vice. Elizabeth, thank goodness, is too sensible to giggle."
"Mark my words, Nicholas, she will be noticed."
"I do not calculate her career will be a very brilliant one if she goes about dropping things on all the carpets in London."
"Do you not think she is lovely?"
For some reason, it was important that his aunt not guess how Elizabeth had first affected him. "She was pretty when she was a little girl, too, you know." He shrugged. "But it is Amelia who has grown into a beauty."
Mrs. Villines dismissed the comment by shaking her head. "Surely you will allow Elizabeth is more than just pretty?"
"All right, Aunt Winifred, I will allow Elizabeth is very pretty. One day—when she is grown up, that is—she might even be exceedingly pretty."
"Elizabeth has something that Amelia, for all her beauty, does not have," Mrs. Villines persisted.
"And what is that?"
"Character," Mrs. Villines said firmly. "And character combined with beauty is a formidable thing for a woman to have."
"Well, I suppose, Aunt Winifred, that Elizabeth might have some small amount of beauty."
Mrs. Villines smiled and shook her head at her nephew.
CHAPTER 10
« ^ »
E veryone who knew Mrs. Smithwayne agreed that she was a commanding personage. She was widely admired for her firmness of character, and her devotion to the poor and downtrodden was really an inspiration to others; she made no bones about it. No one could possibly be more sure of God's intentions for the world—nor more devotedly go about seeing they were carried out—than Annabelle Smithwayne. One could count on her to know without hesitation what was right and proper and when it was that someone had not done it. She was stultifyingly correct; even the smallest failure of deportment was grounds for her thorough and unmerciful disapproval.
Jane Smithwayne, who went everywhere with her mother, looked nothing like her. She was slender, for one thing, and for another, her coloring was precisely the opposite. With her milk-white complexion, pale green eyes, and ash blond hair, she was pretty in a wistful sort of way that completely escaped the notice of her mother, who thought her daughter's lack of heartiness only one of many shortcomings. Much to the dismay of Mrs. Smithwayne, Jane's mind was quick and her penetration often acute. Fortunately her lack of education generally disguised the defect. Jane herself bemoaned what she felt to be her alarming ignorance, though she had, in fact, made the most of what little education her parents had felt was necessary for a daughter. Jane had many good qualities that even her mother could not dismiss. She was tenderhearted, gracious, and always conscious of the feelings of others, even to the detriment of her own. She knew, because her mother told her so, that when she married and had children she
"My dear little Elizabeth," Mrs. Villines said, "there is positively nothing to be sorry for." She patted her arm, taking her cup of tea as she did so. "Let Nicholas give you his seat. He's been terribly selfish to make you sit here while all the time he's had a comfortable chair by the table."
"Perhaps I'd better." She glanced at him and stood when she saw him stand up. "Thank you," she said when he reached her side. "Someone must protect your aunt's china."
Nicholas was disappointed when the Willards left soon afterward. He turned to his aunt when they were gone. "I'm glad they're in London. Have they said how long they'll be here?"
"Likely until Amelia and Elizabeth are married."
"Elizabeth married? Don't be absurd, she's still a girl."
"She is just back from school," Mrs. Villines said on Elizabeth's behalf. "Give her time to adjust to London."
"Schoolgirls," said Nicholas, his tone expressing a full range of contempt for the limited charms of schoolgirls. "They giggle in a most annoying fashion."
"It was not Elizabeth I heard giggling."
"She restrained herself quite admirably from that vice. Elizabeth, thank goodness, is too sensible to giggle."
"Mark my words, Nicholas, she will be noticed."
"I do not calculate her career will be a very brilliant one if she goes about dropping things on all the carpets in London."
"Do you not think she is lovely?"
For some reason, it was important that his aunt not guess how Elizabeth had first affected him. "She was pretty when she was a little girl, too, you know." He shrugged. "But it is Amelia who has grown into a beauty."
Mrs. Villines dismissed the comment by shaking her head. "Surely you will allow Elizabeth is more than just pretty?"
"All right, Aunt Winifred, I will allow Elizabeth is very pretty. One day—when she is grown up, that is—she might even be exceedingly pretty."
"Elizabeth has something that Amelia, for all her beauty, does not have," Mrs. Villines persisted.
"And what is that?"
"Character," Mrs. Villines said firmly. "And character combined with beauty is a formidable thing for a woman to have."
"Well, I suppose, Aunt Winifred, that Elizabeth might have some small amount of beauty."
Mrs. Villines smiled and shook her head at her nephew.
CHAPTER 10
« ^ »
E veryone who knew Mrs. Smithwayne agreed that she was a commanding personage. She was widely admired for her firmness of character, and her devotion to the poor and downtrodden was really an inspiration to others; she made no bones about it. No one could possibly be more sure of God's intentions for the world—nor more devotedly go about seeing they were carried out—than Annabelle Smithwayne. One could count on her to know without hesitation what was right and proper and when it was that someone had not done it. She was stultifyingly correct; even the smallest failure of deportment was grounds for her thorough and unmerciful disapproval.
Jane Smithwayne, who went everywhere with her mother, looked nothing like her. She was slender, for one thing, and for another, her coloring was precisely the opposite. With her milk-white complexion, pale green eyes, and ash blond hair, she was pretty in a wistful sort of way that completely escaped the notice of her mother, who thought her daughter's lack of heartiness only one of many shortcomings. Much to the dismay of Mrs. Smithwayne, Jane's mind was quick and her penetration often acute. Fortunately her lack of education generally disguised the defect. Jane herself bemoaned what she felt to be her alarming ignorance, though she had, in fact, made the most of what little education her parents had felt was necessary for a daughter. Jane had many good qualities that even her mother could not dismiss. She was tenderhearted, gracious, and always conscious of the feelings of others, even to the detriment of her own. She knew, because her mother told her so, that when she married and had children she
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