"She does. She is more or less a figurehead, but she seems reasonable."
"Oh, Jarvis, you're a nice Christmas present. Go put these wet things in the hall, call on Ardelia, and come back. It will take at least a week to say all the things I want to say to you."
He smiled at her, and marched off to do her bidding.
"He looks fine, doesn't he? I never realized before how handsome he is," said the Professor.
"He's thrilling!" replied Bambi.
Her father inspected her thoughtfully.
"What a talent you have for hitting people off! That is just it: he thrills you with a feeling of youth and power."
"Plus some new and softer quality," added Bambi, as if to herself.
The powwow in the kitchen could be heard all over the house, Ardelia welcoming home the Prodigal Son. It was only after long argument he escaped the fatted calf. She could not conceive of him except as hungry after many months in the heathen city.
When he came back into the library he swept with his eyes its caressing harmony of colour, tone, and atmosphere. He had never noticed it before. The Professor's beautiful profile, like a fine steel engraving, thrown into high relief by the lamplight, seemed a part of it. The vibrant little figure on the hearth rug, in a flame-coloured gown, was the high note that gave it all climax. His mind swept the gamut of dirty hall bedrooms, back to this, and the sigh with which he sank into the big couch caught Bambi's amused attention.