And forthwith, from that moment, between themselves she was known no longer by her real name, but sank into a state of hopeless adoration, and was called Queenie.
CHAPTER II
MRS. ALFRED WHITTAKER
It is curious how the possession of humble things satisfies the souls of naturally ambitious people.
In due course Regina Brown merged her identity into that of Mrs. Alfred Whittaker.
They were not married in a hurry. Regina had come of old-fashioned people, who held firmly to the belief that courting time is the sweetest of a woman’s life; that it is good for man to look and long for the woman of his heart, and for woman to be coy and to hold him who will eventually become her liege lord at arm’s length for a suitable period. To people of the Brown, and indeed of the Whittaker class, there is something in a short engagement and a hurried-on marriage which borders almost upon immodesty.
“We won’t be engaged very long,” said Alfred, when he had been made the happiest man in the world for nearly six weeks.
“No, not long,” returned Regina. “My father and mother were engaged for seven years.”