Then her self-accusations came back. She had gone down into the field to see him; perhaps the very man who was with him then was one of those who had jested of her and whom he had punished. Her little hands clutched.
"I'll never go out there again! I'll never see him again—never!" she said, with her teeth shut tight.
Mrs. Thayer did not take any very great interest in the matter until Mrs. Saulisbury held a session with her. Then she sputtered in deep indignation.
"Why, how dare he make love to my niece? Why, the presumptuous thing! Why, the idea! He's a workingman!"
Mrs. Saulisbury remained calm and smiling. She was the only person who could manage Mrs. Thayer.
"Yes, that's true. But he's a college-bred man, and——"
"College-bred! These nasty little Western colleges—what do they amount to? Why, he curries our horses."
Mrs. Saulisbury was amused.
"I know that is an enormity, but I heard the Major tell of currying horses once."
"That was in the army—anyhow, it doesn't matter. Edith can simply ignore the whole thing."