HARRIET [to MARGARET]. You flatter me, my dear.
MARGARET. On the contrary, Harriet, I have an intense admiration for you. I remember how beautiful you were—as a girl. In fact, I was quite jealous when John was paying you so much attention.
HETTY. She is gloating because I lost him.
HARRIET. Those were childhood days in a country town.
MAGGIE [to MARGARET]. She's trying to make you feel that John was only a country boy.
MARGARET. Most great men have come from the country. There is a fair chance that John will be added to the list.
HETTY. I know it and I am bitterly jealous of you.
HARRIET. Undoubtedly he owes much of his success to you, Margaret, your experience in economy and your ability to endure hardship. Those first few years in Paris must have been a struggle.
MAGGIE. She is sneering at your poverty.
MARGARET. Yes, we did find life difficult at first, not the luxurious start a girl has who marries wealth.