"As if you wanted to be a missionary again."
"But I was only a child then. That was amusing."
"Yes. You didn't think so, then." Mrs. Spencer folded the blouse neatly. "Hasn't Spencer grown tall! I see you're buying eleven-year-old clothes for him."
"Well"—Catherine's mouth was stubborn—"I'll just have to show you! And Charles, too. He thinks it's a whim, I know."
"He hasn't objected?"
"Oh, no. Not in words. He wouldn't."
"Poor Charles. These modern women in your own home!" Mrs. Spencer's eyes crinkled almost shut. "Do you know why I came back early? Your sister Margaret has a modern turn, too."
"But she's not in town yet."
"No. She wrote, asking if I wouldn't like to stay with George this winter."
"Why?"