"Am I so young and pretty that you want to see me? Well, if Hilda is willing to favor me."
"Oh certainly, so long as Robert doesn't care to go home. Au revoir, dears."
"Now, then," Aunt Love turned upon her companion argumentatively, "are you perfectly willin' a man should put his arm around your wife's waist?"
"On the contrary, I should object seriously."
"How about that, then?" Miss Berry gestured toward the hall.
"For a man to place his hand on a woman's waist to steady and support her is not to put his arm around her. There are too many other things for a couple to think of in guiding themselves successfully through a crowd of dancers to allow of their usually being conscious of the intimacy of their position. Don't be afraid to admire the dancing, Aunt Love. It can be abused, like everything else; but it is an excellent exercise, inculcating grace, strength, and good manners."
"Well, now, I'm goin' to tell some folks I know what you say. Ain't your wife just as light as a fairy, and don't your brother look handsome to-night? No, sir, there ain't any folks here as good-lookin' as ours."
When the waltz was finished, Gorham Page and Hilda approached Clover and told her that Aunt Love was without. She excused herself from her partner to go with them, and soon afterward Gorham walked home with her.
"Thank you so much for coming," he said, when he was bidding her good-night.
"I am sure we have all to thank you," she answered. "Isn't it hard to be reconciled to letting your brother and Hilda go? We have been such a pleasant party."