When she and her husband arrived at the railroad station, _that_ at least
was primitive enough, and Mr. Oldname in much worn tweeds might have come
from a castle or a cabin; country clothes are no evidence. But her
practised eye noticed the perfect cut of the chauffeur's coat and that the
car, though of an inexpensive make, was one of the prettiest on the
market, and beautifully appointed.
"At least they have good taste in motors and accessories," thought she,
and was glad she had brought her best evening dress.
They drove up to a low white shingled house, at the end of an
old-fashioned brick walk bordered with flowers. The visitor noticed that
the flowers were all of one color, all in perfect bloom. She knew no
inexperienced gardener produced that apparently simple approach to a door
that has been chosen as frontispiece in more than one book on Colonial
architecture. The door was opened by a maid in a silver gray taffeta
dress, with organdie collar, cuffs and apron, white stockings and silver
buckles on black slippers, and the guest saw a quaint hall and vista of
rooms that at first sight might easily be thought "simple" by an inexpert
appraiser; but Mrs. Oldname, who came forward to greet her guests, was
the antithesis of everything the bride's husband had led her to believe.
To describe Mrs. Oldname as simple is about as apt as to call a pearl
"simple" because it doesn't dazzle; nor was there an article in the
apparently simple living-room that would be refused were it offered to a
museum.
The tea-table was Chinese Chippendale and set with old Spode on a
lacquered tray over a mosaic-embroidered linen tea-cloth. The soda
biscuits and cakes were light as froth, the tea an especial blend imported
by a prominent connoisseur and given every Christmas to his friends. There
were three other guests besides the bride and groom: a United States
Senator, and a diplomat and his wife who were on their way from a post in
Europe to one in South America. Instead of "bridge" there was conversation
on international topics until it was time to dress for dinner.
When the bride went to her room (which adjoined that of her husband) she
found her bath drawn, her clothes laid out, and the dressing-table lights
lighted.
That night the bride wore her cerise dress to one of the smartest dinners
she ever went down to, and when they went up-stairs and she at last saw
her husband alone, she took him to task. "Why in the name of goodness
didn't you tell me the truth about these people?"
"Oh," said he abashed, "I told you it was a little house--it was you who
insisted on bringing that red dress. I told you it was too handsome!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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