"And the paying, too," sneers Laura.
"Well, she has the cottage, and if Floyd is going to make such a fortune for her, he could pay himself back, granting he did spend his money, which I very much doubt."
"The fortune is yet to be made," retorts Laura, with a superior air. "There may never be any. We may not ever get our own."
"Then," says Gertrude, poising her weapon steadily, "he bought your wedding clothes as well."
"He is my brother. I should look well asking Arthur to pay such bills."
"Do let them alone," exclaims Gertrude, angrily. "You married to please yourself, and so did he."
"If he did. I only hope there may be enough in it to keep him pleased. The marriage is utterly incongruous every way."
Gertrude relapses into silence and her book. Why can they not be peaceable and let each other alone? It was so pleasant before they all came home.
Marcia soon nurses up a grievance. Why is a mere child like Violet to be allowed to spend hours with this wonderful professor, pretending to translate or copy, while she, who has actually translated poems for publication, is kept outside of the charmed circle? How delightful it would be to say, "My dear, I am so busy translating with Prof. Freilgrath for his new book that I have not a moment for calls." She does not cordially like the professor. He has very little appreciation of art, her art, and when one evening she took great pains to explain an ambitious scheme, he said, "O Miss Marcia, such a thing would be quite impossible! You would want years of thorough training before you could attempt it. I should advise something less arduous and better suited to a young lady's desultory pursuits. You have no idea of intense study."
"Floyd," she says, one morning, "why cannot I help with copying or translating? I should be glad to do something."