He flushed and laughed.
"All right;" and he presently gave himself up to an undisguised satisfaction in Val's return.
It was from Wilbur she heard that Julia Otway was engaged to be married to Mr. Tom Scherer, Judge Wilbur's new law partner. The late-comer was reputed to be tremendously clever, and to have written a very "modern" and highly successful novel.
"Scherer's great," Harry said, in his good-natured way. "He does and is all the things my father's been bothering so long to make me."
"And do you like him—this Scherer?"
"Course; he's taken a frightful responsibility off me. Besides, he's a capital fellow."
Val and Ethan were going over the river one morning soon after their arrival, when, on the bridge in the narrow footway, they met Julia and Jerry face to face. Val shook hands with them both, and as she talked to Jerry she heard Ethan saying they had expected to see Julia before this—when was she coming to the Fort? Julia made plausible excuses for not having called before, and Ethan laughingly blamed Mr. Scherer.
"Bring him to see us," he said, as they parted.
The next morning, Julia passed by while Ethan was giving some directions to the gardeners. He called out to her, and they talked awhile at the gate. Val, at an upper window, wondered what she could say to her husband that would not betray the ground of that old quarrel, and that yet would relieve her from pretending she had shaken off the effects of it. As she stood there the bell sounded. Julia glanced up and saw her. Ethan, seeing a change in the face, looked up, too, and called out:
"Oh, Val, here's Miss Julia; make her come in and lunch with us."