There was another silence. Mrs. Farley could not bear it.
"Has Mr. Ridge decided when he will leave for Europe, Alice?" Mrs. Farley's knife and fork in her weak hands clattered against her plate.
Alice was silent a moment. "He won't leave before next month," she said. She was very intent on her food. A flush went across her forehead like a burn half under her stringy brown hair. Laurence gave her a quick half-pleased glance of involuntary inquiry. Winnie stared at her with soft sharpness.
"Does the doctor think his eyes will get well?" Mr. Farley asked, too clouded with his own concerns to be aware of the tension in Alice's face.
"He hopes so. It is nervous strain and overwork mostly. There was some sort of infection, but that came as a result."
"Then you'll have a vacation. He can't take you to Europe."
"No," Alice said almost angrily. "I know where I can get green things cheap, Mamma. That market on Smith Street."
"I see where Ridge has been attacked by all his radical friends. He seems to have most of the world down on him for that last book." Alice would not see Laurence's sneer.
"He's too good for all of them," she said sharply.
Winnie pursed her mouth. It was an effort not to laugh. To see Alice show feeling for a man like Ridge made one hysterical.