第13章

Mrs。Laphamaskedhereldestdaughter，wholoungedintotheparlouramomentwithherwrapstringingfromherarm，whiletheyoungerwentstraighttobed。

"HewantstoinviteMr。Corey’sfathertoafishdinneratTaft’s！"

Penelopewasyawningwithherhandonhermouth；

shestopped，and，withalaughofamusedexpectance，sankintoachair，hershouldersshruggedforward。

"Why！whatintheworldhasputtheColoneluptothat？"

"Puthimuptoit！There’sthatfellow，whooughthavecometoseehimlongago，dropsintohisofficethismorning，andtalksfiveminuteswithhim，andyourfatherisflatteredoutofhisfivesenses。He’scrazytogetinwiththosepeople，andIshallhaveaperfectbattletokeephimwithinbounds。"

"Well，Persis，ma’am，youcan’tsaybutwhatyoubeganit，"

saidPenelope。

"Ohyes，Ibeganit，"confessedMrs。Lapham。"Pen，"shebrokeout，"whatdoyousupposehemeansbyit？"

"Who？Mr。Corey’sfather？WhatdoestheColonelthink？"

"Oh，theColonel！"criedMrs。Lapham。Sheaddedtremulously：

"PerhapsheISright。HeDIDseemtotakeafancytoherlastsummer，andnowifhe’scalledinthatway"Sheleftherdaughtertodistributethepronounsaright，andresumed：

"Ofcourse，Ishouldhavesaidoncethattherewasn’tanyquestionaboutit。Ishouldhavesaidsolastyear；

andIdon’tknowwhatitiskeepsmefromsayingsonow。

IsupposeIknowalittlemoreaboutthingsthanIdid；

andyourfather’sbeingsobentonitsetsmeallinatwitter。Hethinkshismoneycandoeverything。

Well，Idon’tsaybutwhatitcan，agoodmany。And’Reneisasgoodachildasevertherewas；andIdon’tseebutwhatshe’spretty—appearingenoughtosuitanyone。

She’spretty—behaved，too；andsheISthemostcapablegirl。

Ipresumeyoungmendon’tcareverymuchforsuchthingsnowadays；butthereain’tagreatmanygirlscangorightintothekitchen，andmakesuchacustardasshedidyesterday。Andlookatthewayshedoes，throughthewholehouse！Shecan’tseemtogointoaroomwithoutthethingsflyrightintotheirplaces。Andifshehadtodoitto—morrow，shecouldmakeallherowndressesagreatdealbetterthanthemwepaytodoit。Idon’tsaybutwhathe’saboutasniceafellowaseverstepped。

Butthere！I’mashamedofgoingonso。"

"Well，mother，"saidthegirlafterapause，inwhichshelookedasifalittlewearyofthesubject，"whydoyouworryaboutit？Ifit’stobeit’llbe，andifitisn’t————"

"Yes，that’swhatItellyourfather。Butwhenitcomestomyself，Iseehowharditisforhimtorestquiet。

I’mafraidweshallalldosomethingwe’llrepentofafterwards。"

"Well，ma’am，"saidPenelope，"Idon’tintendtodoanythingwrong；

butifIdo，Ipromisenottobesorryforit。I’llgothatfar。AndIthinkIwouldn’tbesorryforitbeforehand，ifIwereinyourplace，mother。LettheColonelgoon！Helikestomanoeuvre，andheisn’tgoingtohurtanyone。

TheCoreyfamilycantakecareofthemselves，Iguess。"

Shelaughedinherthroat，drawingdownthecornersofhermouth，andenjoyingtheresolutionwithwhichhermothertriedtoflingofftheburdenofheranxieties。

"Pen！Ibelieveyou’reright。Youalwaysdoseethingsinsuchalight！There！Idon’tcareifhebringshimdowneveryday。"

"Well，ma’am，"saidPen，"Idon’tbelieve’Renewould，either。She’sjustsoindifferent！"

TheColonelsleptbadlythatnight，andinthemorningMrs。Laphamcametobreakfastwithouthim。

"Yourfatherain’twell，"shereported。"He’shadoneofhisturns。"

"Ishouldhavethoughthehadtwoorthreeofthem，"

saidPenelope，"bythestampingroundIheard。Isn’thecomingtobreakfast？"

"Notjustyet，"saidhermother。"He’sasleep，andhe’llbeallrightifhegetshisnapout。

Idon’twantyougirlsshouldmakeanygreatnoise。"

"Oh，we’llbequietenough，"returnedPenelope。

"Well，I’mgladtheColonelisn’tsojering。AtfirstI

thoughthemightbesojering。"Shebrokeintoalaugh，and，strugglingindolentlywithit，lookedathersister。

"Youdon’tthinkit’llbenecessaryforanybodytocomedownfromtheofficeandtakeordersfromhimwhilehe’slaidup，doyou，mother？"sheinquired"Pen！"criedIrene。

"He’llbewellenoughtogoupontheteno’clockboat，"

saidthemothersharply。

"Ithinkpapaworkstoohardallthroughthesummer。

Whydon’tyoumakehimtakearest，mamma？"askedIrene。

"Oh，takearest！Themanslaveshardereveryyear。

Itusedtobesothathe’dtakealittletimeoffnowandthen；

butIdeclare，hehardlyeverseemstobreathenowawayfromhisoffice。Andthisyearhesayshedoesn’tintendtogodowntoLapham，excepttoseeaftertheworksforafewdays。

Idon’tknowwhattodowiththemananymore！Seemsasifthemoremoneyhegot，themorehewantedtoget。

Itscaresmetothinkwhatwouldhappentohimifhelostit。Iknowonething，"concludedMrs。Lapham。

"Heshallnotgobacktotheofficeto—day。"

"Thenhewon’tgoupontheteno’clockboat，"

Penremindedher。

"No，hewon’t。Youcanjustdriveovertothehotelassoonasyou’rethrough，girls，andtelegraphthathe’snotwell，andwon’tbeattheofficetillto—morrow。I’mnotgoingtohavethemsendanybodydownheretobotherhim。"

"That’sablow，"saidPen。"Ididn’tknowbuttheymightsend————"shelookeddemurelyathersister——"Dennis！"

"Mamma！"criedIrene。

"Well，Ideclare，there’snolivingwiththisfamilyanymore，"saidPenelope。

"There，Pen，bedone！"commandedhermother。Butperhapsshedidnotintendtoforbidherteasing。Itgaveapleasantsortofrealitytotheaffairthatwasinhermind，andmadewhatshewishedappearnotonlypossiblebutprobable。

Laphamgotupandloungedabout，frettingandrebellingaseachboatdepartedwithouthim，throughtheday；

beforenighthebecameverycross，inspiteoftheeffortsofthefamilytosoothehim，andgrumbledthathehadbeenkeptfromgoinguptotown。"Imightaswellhavegoneasnot，"herepeated，tillhiswifelostherpatience。

"Well，youshallgoto—morrow，Silas，ifyouhavetobecarriedtotheboat。"

"Ideclare，"saidPenelope，"theColoneldon’tpetworthacent。"

Thesixo’clockboatbroughtCorey。Thegirlsweresittingonthepiazza，andIrenesawhimfirst。

"OPen！"shewhispered，withherheartinherface；

andPenelopehadnotimeformockerybeforehewasatthesteps。

"IhopeColonelLaphamisn’till，"hesaid，andtheycouldheartheirmotherengagedinamoralcontestwiththeirfatherindoors。

"Goandputonyourcoat！Isayyoushall！Itdon’tmatterHOWheseesyouattheoffice，shirt—sleevesornot。

You’reinagentleman’shousenow——oryououghttobe——andyoushan’tseecompanyinyourdressing—gown。"

Penelopehurriedintosubduehermother’sanger。

"Oh，he’sverymuchbetter，thankyou！"saidIrene，speakinguploudlytodrownthenoiseofthecontroversy。

"I’mgladofthat，"saidCorey，andwhensheledhimindoorsthevanquishedColonelmethisvisitorinadouble—breastedfrock—coat，whichhewasstillbuttoningup。HecouldnotpersuadehimselfatoncethatCoreyhadnotcomeuponsomeurgentbusinessmatter，andwhenhewasclearthathehadcomeoutofcivility，surprisemingledwithhisgratificationthatheshouldbetheobjectofsolicitudetotheyoungman。

InLapham’scircleofacquaintancetheycomplainedwhentheyweresick，buttheymadenowomanishinquiriesafteroneanother’shealth，andcertainlypaidnovisitsofsympathytillmatterswereserious。Hewouldhaveenlargedupontheparticularsofhisindispositionifhehadbeenallowedtodoso；andaftertea，whichCoreytookwiththem，hewouldhaveremainedtoentertainhimifhiswifehadnotsenthimtobed。Shefollowedhimtoseethathetooksomemedicineshehadprescribedforhim，butshewentfirsttoPenelope’sroom，whereshefoundthegirlwithabookinherhand，whichshewasnotreading。

"Youbettergodown，"saidthemother。"I’vegottogotoyourfather，andIreneisallalonewithMr。Corey；

andIknowshe’llbeonpinsandneedleswithoutyou’retheretohelpmakeitgooff。"

"She’dbettertrytogetalongwithoutme，mother，"

saidPenelopesoberly。"Ican’talwaysbewiththem。"

"Well，"repliedMrs。Lapham，"thenImust。There’llbeaperfectQuakermeetingdownthere。"

"Oh，Iguess’Renewillfindsomethingtosayifyouleavehertoherself。Orifshedon’t，HEmust。

It’llbeallrightforyoutogodownwhenyougetready；

butIshan’tgotilltowardthelast。Ifhe’scomingheretoseeIrene——andIdon’tbelievehe’scomeonfather’saccount——hewantstoseeherandnotme。

Ifshecan’tinteresthimalone，perhapshe’daswellfinditoutnowasanytime。Atanyrate，Iguessyou’dbettermaketheexperiment。You’llknowwhetherit’sasuccessifhecomesagain。"

"Well，"saidthemother，"maybeyou’reright。I’llgodowndirectly。Itdoesseemasifhedidmeansomething，afterall。"

Mrs。Laphamdidnothastentoreturntoherguest。

Inherowngirlhooditwassupposedthatifayoungmanseemedtobecomingtoseeagirl，itwasonlycommon—

sensetosupposethathewishedtoseeheralone；andherlifeintownhadleftMrs。Lapham’ssimpletraditionsinthisrespectunchanged。Shedidwithherdaughterashermotherwouldhavedonewithher。

WherePenelopesatwithherbook，sheheardthecontinuousmurmurofvoicesbelow，andafteralongintervalsheheardhermotherdescend。Shedidnotreadtheopenbookthatlayinherlap，thoughshekepthereyesfastontheprint。Oncesheroseandalmostshutthedoor，sothatshecouldscarcelyhear；thensheopeneditwideagainwithaself—disdainfulair，andresolutelywentbacktoherbook，whichagainshedidnotread。

ButsheremainedinherroomtillitwasnearlytimeforCoreytoreturntohisboat。

Whentheywerealoneagain，IrenemadeafeintofscoldingherforleavinghertoentertainMr。Corey。

"Why！didn’tyouhaveapleasantcall？"askedPenelope。

Irenethrewherarmsroundher。"Oh，itwasaSPLENDID

call！Ididn’tsupposeIcouldmakeitgooffsowell。

Wetalkednearlythewholetimeaboutyou！"

"Idon’tthinkTHATwasaveryinterestingsubject。"

"Hekeptaskingaboutyou。Heaskedeverything。

Youdon’tknowhowmuchhethinksofyou，Pen。OPen！

whatdoyouthinkmadehimcome？Doyouthinkhereallydidcometoseehowpapawas？"Ireneburiedherfaceinhersister’sneck。

Penelopestoodwithherarmsatherside，submitting。

"Well，"shesaid，"Idon’tthinkhedid，altogether。"

Irene，allglowing，releasedher。"Don’tyou——don’tyouREALLY？OPen！don’tyouthinkheISnice？Don’tyouthinkhe’shandsome？Don’tyouthinkIbehavedhorridlywhenwefirstmethimthisevening，notthankinghimforcoming？IknowhethinksI’venomanners。Butitseemedasifitwouldbethankinghimforcomingtoseeme。

OughtItohaveaskedhimtocomeagain，whenhesaidgood—night？Ididn’t；Icouldn’t。Doyoubelievehe’llthinkIdon’twanthimto？Youdon’tbelievehewouldkeepcomingifhedidn’t——wantto————"

"Hehasn’tkeptcomingagreatdeal，yet，"suggestedPenelope。

"No；Iknowhehasn’t。Butifhe——ifheshould？"

"ThenIshouldthinkhewantedto。"

"Oh，wouldyou——WOULDyou？Oh，howgoodyoualwaysare，Pen！Andyoualwayssaywhatyouthink。Iwishtherewassomeonecomingtoseeyoutoo。That’sallthatI

don’tlikeaboutit。Perhaps————HewastellingabouthisfriendthereinTexas————"

"Well，"saidPenelope，"hisfriendcouldn’tcalloftenfromTexas。Youneedn’taskMr。Coreytotroubleaboutme，’Rene。IthinkIcanmanagetoworryalong，ifyou’resatisfied。"

"Oh，IAM，Pen。Whendoyousupposehe’llcomeagain？"

IrenepushedsomeofPenelope’sthingsasideonthedressing—case，torestherelbowandtalkatease。

Penelopecameupandputthemback。

"Well，notto—night，"shesaid；"andifthat’swhatyou’resittingupfor————"

Irenecaughtherroundtheneckagain，andranoutoftheroom。

TheColonelwaspackedoffontheeighto’clockboatthenextmorning；buthisrecoverydidnotpreventCoreyfromrepeatinghisvisitinaweek。ThistimeIrenecameradiantlyuptoPenelope’sroom，whereshehadagainwithdrawnherself。"Youmustcomedown，Pen，"shesaid。

"He’saskedifyou’renotwell，andmammasaysyou’vegottocome。"

AfterthatPenelopehelpedIrenethroughwithhercalls，andtalkedthemoverwithherfarintothenightafterCoreywasgone。Butwhentheimpatientcuriosityofhermotherpressedherforsomeopinionoftheaffair，shesaid，"YouknowasmuchasIdo，mother。"

"Don’theeversayanythingtoyouabouther——praiseherup，any？"

"He’snevermentionedIrenetome。"

"Hehasn’ttome，either，"saidMrs。Lapham，withasighoftrouble。"Thenwhatmakeshimkeepcoming？"

"Ican’ttellyou。Onething，hesaysthereisn’tahouseopeninBostonwherehe’sacquainted。Waittillsomeofhisfriendsgetback，andthenifhekeepscoming，it’llbetimetoinquire。"

"Well！"saidthemother；butastheweekspassedshewaslessandlessabletoattributeCorey’svisitstohislonelinessintown，andturnedtoherhusbandforcomfort。

"Silas，Idon’tknowasweoughttoletyoungCoreykeepcomingso。Idon’tquitelikeit，withallhisfamilyaway。"

"He’sofage，"saidtheColonel。"Hecangowherehepleases。

Itdon’tmatterwhetherhisfamily’shereornot。"

"Yes，butiftheydon’twantheshouldcome？Shouldyoufeeljustrightaboutlettinghim？"

"How’reyougoingtostophim？Iswear，Persis，Idon’tknowwhat’sgotoveryou！Whatisit？Youdidn’tusetobeso。

Buttohearyoutalk，you’dthinkthoseCoreysweretoogoodforthisworld，andwewa’n’tfitfor’emtowalkon。"

"I’mnotgoingtohave’emsaywetookanadvantageoftheirbeingawayandtolledhimon。"

"IshouldliketoHEAR’emsayit！"criedLapham。

"Oranybody！"

"Well，"saidhiswife，relinquishingthispointofanxiety，"Ican’tmakeoutwhetherhecaresanythingforherornot。

AndPencan’ttelleither；orelseshewon’t。"

"Oh，Iguesshecaresforher，fastenough，"saidtheColonel。

"Ican’tmakeoutthathe’ssaidordonethefirstthingtoshowit。"

"Well，Iwasbetterthanayeargettingmycourageup。"

"Oh，thatwasdifferent，"saidMrs。Lapham，incontemptuousdismissalofthecomparison，andyetwithacertainfondness。

"Iguess，ifhecaredforher，afellowinhispositionwouldn’tbelonggettinguphiscouragetospeaktoIrene。"

Laphambroughthisfistdownonthetablebetweenthem。

"Lookhere，Persis！Onceforall，now，don’tyoueverletmehearyousayanythinglikethatagain！I’mworthnighontoamillion，andI’vemadeiteverycentmyself；

andmygirlsaretheequalsofanybody，Idon’tcarewhoitis。Heain’tthefellowtotakeonanyairs；

butifheevertriesitwithme，I’llsendhimtotherightaboutmightyquick。I’llhaveatalkwithhim，if————"

"No，no；don’tdothat！"imploredhiswife。"Ididn’tmeananything。Idon’tknowasImeantANYthing。

He’sjustasunassumingashecanbe，andIthinkIrene’samatchforanybody。Youjustletthingsgoon。It’llbeallright。Younevercantellhowitiswithyoungpeople。

PerhapsSHE’Soffish。Nowyouain’t——youain’tgoingtosayanything？"

Laphamsufferedhimselftobepersuaded，themoreeasily，nodoubt，becauseafterhisexplosionhemusthaveperceivedthathisprideitselfstoodinthewayofwhathispridehadthreatened。Hecontentedhimselfwithhiswife’spromisethatshewouldneveragainpresentthatoffensiveviewofthecase，andshedidnotremainwithoutacertainsupportinhissturdyself—assertion。

XII。

MRS。COREYreturnedwithherdaughtersintheearlydaysofOctober，havingpassedthreeorfourweeksatIntervaleafterleavingBarHarbour。TheyweresomewhatbrownerthantheywerewhentheylefttowninJune，buttheywerenototherwisechanged。Lily，theelderofthegirls，hadbroughtbackanumberofstudiesofkelpandtoadstools，withaccessoryrocksandrottenlogs，whichshewouldneverfinishupandnevershowanyone，knowingtheslightnessoftheirmerit。Nanny，theyounger，hadreadagreatmanynovelswithakeensenseoftheirinaccuracyasrepresentationsoflife，andhadseenagreatdealoflifewithasadregretforitsdifferencefromfiction。Theywerebothnicegirls，accomplished，well—dressedofcourse，andwellenoughlooking；

buttheyhadmetnooneattheseasideorthemountainswhomtheirtastewouldallowtoinfluencetheirfate，andtheyhadcomehometotheoccupationstheyhadleft，withnohopesandnofearstodistractthem。

Intheabsenceofthesetheywerefittedtotakethemorevividinterestintheirbrother’saffairs，whichtheycouldseeweighedupontheirmother’smindafterthefirsthoursofgreeting。

"Oh，itseemstohavebeengoingon，andyourfatherhasneverwrittenawordaboutit，"shesaid，shakingherhead。

"Whatgoodwouldithavedone？"askedNanny，whowaslittleandfair，withringsoflighthairthatfilledabonnet—frontveryprettily；shelookedbestinabonnet。

"Itwouldonlyhaveworriedyou。HecouldnothavestoppedTom；youcouldn’t，whenyoucamehometodoit。"

"Idaresaypapadidn’tknowmuchaboutit，"suggestedLily。

Shewasatall，lean，darkgirl，wholookedasifshewerenotquitewarmenough，andwhomyoualwaysassociatedwithwrapsofdifferentaestheticeffectafteryouhadonceseenher。

Itisaseriousmatteralwaystothewomenofhisfamilywhenayoungmangivesthemcausetosuspectthatheisinterestedinsomeotherwoman。Ason—in—laworbrother—in—lawdoesnotenterthefamily；heneednotbecaressedormadeanythingof；buttheson’sorbrother’swifehasaclaimuponhismotherandsisterswhichtheycannotdeny。Someconventionoftheirsexobligesthemtoshowheraffection，tolikeortoseemtolikeher，totakehertotheirintimacy，howeverodiousshemaybetothem。WiththeCoreysitwassomethingmorethananaffairofsentiment。Theywerebynomeanspoor，andtheywerenotdependentmoney—wiseuponTomCorey；

butthemotherhadcome，withoutknowingit，torelyuponhissense，hisadviceineverything，andthesisters，seeinghimhithertosoindifferenttogirls，hadinsensiblygrowntoregardhimasaltogethertheirowntillheshouldbereleased，notbyhismarriage，butbytheirs，aneventwhichhadnotapproachedwiththelapseoftime。

Somekindsofgirls——theybelievedthattheycouldreadilyhavechosenakind——mighthavetakenhimwithouttakinghimfromthem；butthisgenerositycouldnotbehopedforinsuchagirlasMissLapham。

"Perhaps，"urgedtheirmother，"itwouldnotbesobad。

Sheseemedanaffectionatelittlethingwithhermother，withoutagreatdealofcharacterthoughshewassocapableaboutsomethings。"

"Oh，she’llbeanaffectionatelittlethingwithTomtoo，youmaybesure，"saidNanny。"Andthatcharacterlesscapabilitybecomesthemostintensenarrow—mindedness。

She’llthinkwewereagainstherfromthebeginning。"

"Shehasnocauseforthat，"Lilyinterposed，"andweshallnotgiveherany。"

"Yes，weshall，"retortedNanny。"Wecan’thelpit；

andifwecan’t，herownignorancewouldbecauseenough。"

"Ican’tfeelthatshe’saltogetherignorant，"

saidMrs。Coreyjustly。

"Ofcourseshecanreadandwrite，"admittedNanny。

"Ican’timaginewhathefindstotalkaboutwithher，"

saidLily。

"Oh，THAT’Sverysimple，"returnedhersister。

"Theytalkaboutthemselves，withoccasionalreferencestoeachother。Ihaveheardpeople’goingon’onthehotelpiazzas。She’sembroidering，orknitting，ortatting，orsomethingofthatkind；andhesayssheseemsquitedevotedtoneedlework，andshesays，yes，shehasaperfectpassionforit，andeverybodylaughsatherforit；

butshecan’thelpit，shealwayswassofromachild，andsupposesshealwaysshallbe，——withremoteandminuteparticulars。Andsheendsbysayingthatperhapshedoesnotlikepeopletotat，orknit，orembroider，orwhatever。Andhesays，oh，yes，hedoes；whatcouldmakeherthinksuchathing？butforhisparthelikesboatingratherbetter，orifyou’reinthewoodscamping。

Thensheletshimtakeuponecornerofherwork，andperhapstouchherfingers；andthatencourageshimtosaythathesupposesnothingcouldinducehertodropherworklongenoughtogodownontherocks，oroutamongthehuckleberrybushes；andsheputsherheadononeside，andsaysshedoesn’tknowreally。

Andthentheygo，andheliesatherfeetontherocks，orpickshuckleberriesanddropstheminherlap，andtheygoontalkingaboutthemselves，andcomparingnotestoseehowtheydifferfromeachother。And————"

"Thatwilldo，Nanny，"saidhermother。

Lilysmiledautumnally。"Oh，disgusting！"

"Disgusting？Notatall！"protestedhersister。

"It’sveryamusingwhenyouseeit，andwhenyoudoit————"

"It’salwaysamysterywhatpeopleseeineachother，"

observedMrs。Coreyseverely。

"Yes，"Nannyadmitted，"butIdon’tknowthatthereismuchcomfortforusintheapplication。""No，thereisn’t，"

saidhermother。

"Themostthatwecandoistohopeforthebesttillweknowtheworst。Ofcourseweshallmakethebestoftheworstwhenitcomes。"

"Yes，andperhapsitwouldnotbesoverybad。

IwassayingtoyourfatherwhenIwashereinJulythatthosethingscanalwaysbemanaged。Youmustfacethemasiftheywerenothingoutoftheway，andtrynottogiveanycauseforbitternessamongourselves。"

"That’strue。ButIdon’tbelieveintoomuchresignationbeforehand。Itamountstoconcession，"saidNanny。

"Ofcourseweshouldopposeitinallproperways，"

returnedhermother。

Lilyhadceasedtodiscussthematter。Invirtueofherartistictemperament，shewasexpectednottobeverypractical。

Itwashermotherandhersisterwhomanaged，submittingtotheadviceandconsentofCoreywhattheyintendedtodo。

"YourfatherwrotemethathehadcalledonColonelLaphamathisplaceofbusiness，"saidMrs。Corey，seizingherfirstchanceofapproachingthesubjectwithherson。

"Yes，"saidCorey。"Adinnerwasfather’sidea，buthecamedowntoacall，atmysuggestion。"