“I remember it, quite,” nodded Mrs. MacDowell. “But such revenge as yours is merely senseless.”
“You think I ought to be more thorough-going, do you?” asked Freda. “Perhaps you think a better revenge would be to marry Ted Courtney, even yet—”
Mrs. MacDowell cast a long, steady look at Freda, a look full of her grey-eyed criticism, full of her tranquil-faced reserve, full of her Family-Compact self-sufficiency; but she said not a word more.
CHAPTER IV.
The Optimist.
“He is a father to the town.”—Latin Proverb.
After dinner, Freda was left suddenly alone. Her mother was up the river at a bridge party on Courtney’s elegant yacht, the Cinderella. Her father was at home, but she felt that after her year’s absence it would be necessary to become acquainted with him again. When he finished his paper, he strolled with her about the wide lawn, asking many questions about her work in Merlton. He was very impersonal and almost polite and, although Freda was sure he was not much interested in her work, she admired his consummate smoothness. During all the years of her grown-up life he had been just as impervious and just as winningly polished as to-night. She felt the same attraction as if she were talking with any cultivated and gentlemanly stranger.
“It must be nice, Dad, to be the whole cheese in this town,” she said, teasingly.
“If you’re referring to me,” he replied, “I’ll enquire—before thanking you for the compliment—whether or not you’re seeking municipal favor?”