“Everything seems so different after one is married,” she stated.
“Is that really so?” cried Ellen. “Well, I shall soon know, Fan, for I’m to be married in the fall.”
“Married? Why, Ellen Dix!”
“Uh—huh,” confirmed Ellen, quite satisfied with the success of her coup. “You don’t know him, Fan; but he’s perfectly elegant—and handsome! Just wait till you see him.”
Ellen rocked herself to and fro excitedly.
“I met him in Grenoble last winter, and we’re going to live there in the sweetest house. He fell in love with me the first minute he saw me. You never knew anyone to be so awfully in love ... m’m!”
Without in the least comprehending the reason for the phenomenon, Mrs. Wesley Elliot experienced a singular depression of spirit. Of course she was glad poor dear Ellen was to be happy. She strove to infuse a sprightly satisfaction into her tone and manner as she said:
“What wonderful news, dear. But isn’t it rather—sudden? I mean, oughtn’t you to have known him longer! ...You didn’t tell me his name.”
Ellen’s piquant dark face sparkled with mischief and happiness.
“His name is Harvey Wade,” she replied; “you know Wade and Hampton, where you bought your wedding things, Fan? Everybody knows the Wades, and I’ve known Harvey long enough to—”