He obeyed meekly. With quite a proprietary interest, she watched his awkward entry into the enemy's country, his introduction to Carmichael père and Carmichael mère, a lady who looked on life (the Darcys included) through a rather invidious lorgnon. This lorgnon trained itself on Archibald at close range.
"Poor Mr. Blair!" thought Joan.
But a little while later she was surprised to see that her protégé and Mrs. Carmichael had joined the ranks of the strollers and were chatting and laughing together with quite an air of old friendship. He looked up at her as they passed, shyly, and Joan clapped her hands softly to indicate approval.
The last ring of horses was showing when he finally returned.
"Well," Joan rallied him. "I thought you'd gone over to the enemy for good!"
"Judge Carmichael and I were talking over old times when I used to sell him papers," explained Archibald. "I reminded him of a day when he treated me to a pair of shoes because he said my toes sticking out made him feel chilly.... But are they your enemies?"
Joan bit her lip. She did not like her self-consciousness about the Carmichaels. "Really, I don't know," she said indifferently. "They certainly are not my friends."
"I think they'd like to be, though!" remarked the unexpected Archie. "Miss Carmichael said you were the only one of the débutantes who looked worth while, and she asked a lot of questions about you and your father, and said she would have been to see you long ago, except for—" He stopped abruptly. He had almost finished the quotation verbatim.
Joan flushed. "I trust you were able to give her a good account of us!" she remarked haughtily.
Archie answered in all innocence. "I told her Mrs. Darcy was your step-mother."