“No one has any intention of driving you from home,” said Ethel. “We want to guard you with our faith and love.”
“Your faith!” Grace laughed ironically.
“Of course we have all the faith in the world in you!” declared Mrs. Durland.
Stephen Durland, who had remained silent during this discussion, was now folding his napkin. He cleared his throat, glanced from his wife to his daughters and back to his wife.
“Seems to me this has gone far enough, Alicia. There’s no use acting as though Grace had done anything wrong.”
“Of course we didn’t mean that, Stephen,” said Mrs. Durland quickly. “It was only——”
The fact that Durland so rarely expressed an opinion on any matter pertaining to family affairs had so surprised her that she found herself unequal to the task of completing her sentence.
“I guess it’s a good place to let the matter drop,” he said. “The way to show Grace we trust her is to trust her. Twelve o’clock is not late. I heard Grace when she came in. I don’t blame her for not answering questions when she’s jumped on. Don’t nag Grace. Grace is all right.”
This was the longest speech Stephen Durland had delivered in a family council for years. He rose, paused to drain the glass of water at his plate and left the room. A moment later the front door closed very softly. The gentleness with which it closed had curiously the effect of an emphasis upon his last words. They waited to give him time to reach the gate. Having broken one precedent he might break another; he might come back. He had even addressed his wife as Alicia instead of the familiar Allie—a radical and disconcerting departure.
“We may as well clear the table,” said Mrs. Durland, when a full minute had passed. Grace assisted in the clearing up. All the processes of this labor were executed in silence save for an occasional deep sigh from Mrs. Durland. When the dishes had been washed and put away in the pantry Grace hung up her apron and went to her room. She made her bed and straightened up her dressing table and had put on her hat and coat when Ethel appeared in the door.