The note served only to revive with keener malevolence the jealousy that she had vanquished the previous night. Trenton had never written so brusquely before; perhaps his wife’s demand for an interview had alarmed him. She stabbed herself with the thought that this woman had the right to demand interviews with him whenever she pleased.
In the search for consolation she asked Irene to go to lunch with her. To her relief, Irene, having already formed at long range her opinion of Mrs. Trenton, asked only a few questions about the dinner.
“Having seen Mary you will understand Ward better,” Irene remarked, after her curiosity had been satisfied as to what the women wore and she had suggested that the meeting with Atwood under Miss Reynolds’s roof might lead to something.
“Ward’s coming here to see her; he may be in town now,” said Grace, not in the least interested in Atwood. “She told us at dinner she hadn’t seen her husband for she didn’t know how long and had been wiring to try to locate him. What do you make of that, Irene? Do you suppose——”
“I’d suppose nothing! You can’t tell what women of that sort think or what they’ll do. But you can be pretty sure they’ll do something foolish every chance they get. Don’t you worry about her; you can trust Ward to take care of you no matter what her ladyship knows or guesses about him. If Ward loves you as I think he does he’ll go clear down the line for you.”
“Do you think that,—do you really mean that,” asked Grace tremulously.
“Of course I mean it! Look here, my dear! Seeing that woman has made you nervous. If you’d asked my advice in advance I’d have told you not to go. But now that you went and gone and done it the sooner you forget the whole business the better.”
“Irene, I simply had to go! I was simply dying of curiosity and jealousy. Can’t you understand that? You needn’t tell me I ought to be ashamed of myself for going; I know well enough I ought to be.”
“Cut it out, old dear! I’d probably have done the same thing myself if I’d been in your place. Why, Grace, the first time Mrs. Kemp appeared on my floor after I began playing around with Tommy, I nearly broke my neck to wait on her. You ought to feel better now you’ve seen the woman. I heard some of our valued customers talking about the lecture this morning and they all knocked. It’s her money they listen to, not her ideas. She’s no rival of yours, my dear. But, speaking of rivals, I’ve been keeping something from you. Good old John Moore has called on me twice lately and I went to a movie with him Saturday night. Honest, I did! Don’t faint, but I actually broke a date with Tommy to see a picture with your old college chum! Go on and scold me!”
“Why, Irene, I’m awfully pleased. John liked you from the first time you met.”