There was a shade of deference in her manner 213 to him which he realized was due to the awe with which she regarded the dignity of his elective office. This amused while it appealed to him.
“We are on our way to California to spend the winter,” she replied, in answer to his eager question, “and father proposed stopping here until after election.”
“You come in and out of my life like a comet,” he complained wistfully.
Mrs. Winthrop came in, smiling and charming as ever. She was very cordial to David, and interested in his campaign, but it seemed to him that she was a little too gracious, as if she wished to impress him with the fact that it was a concession to meet him on an equal social footing. For Mrs. Winthrop was inclined to be of the world, worldly.
“You have arrived at an auspicious time,” he assured her. “To-night the Democrats will have the biggest parade ever scheduled for this city. Joe calls it the round-up.”
“Oh, is Joe here?” asked Carey eagerly.
“Yes; and another friend of yours, Fletcher Wilder.” 214
“I knew that he was here,” she said, with an odd little smile.
“We had expected to see him in New York, and were surprised to learn he was out here,” said Mrs. Winthrop.
“He came to help me in my campaign,” informed David.