England -- Fiction; Husband and wife -- Fiction; Indiana -- Fiction; Marriage -- Fiction; Mate selection -- Fiction
"Yes, dear," answered Mrs. Stillwater. She went over to Indiana and bent
over her.
"Stop that," whispered Indiana.
Mrs. Stillwater looked at her with a piteous expression, then sank down
into a chair near the tea-table.
"This cup is for Lady Canning. No, Jennings, I’ll take it to her
myself."
Mrs. Stillwater watched her jealously as she waited on Lady Canning, and
drank her tea with a vague feeling of disappointment in her reunion with
Indiana. Mr. Stillwater inspected, with interest, various objects in
the room, walking about with Thurston, their cups in their hands.
"There’s a solidity about all this, which speaks for itself," said Mr.
Stillwater. "It’s no use talking, a man can’t buy it." Thurston called
his attention to a tapestry. "Yes, I know—Gobelin—very fine. I admire
it right here, because it belongs here. But when our millionaires
import other people’s old furniture, even that of princes and cardinals,
and put it in their brand-new American homes—it seems to me snobbery.
The only value of an antique is when it belongs to a nation."
"I agree with you, Mr. Stillwater."
After some further conversation, Lady Canning said, gently, to Indiana,
"My darling, will you excuse me now? I know you have much to say to your
people." She shook hands graciously with them all. "Now, when will you
come and dine with us?"
"Oh, we’ll run in any old time," said Mrs. Bunker.
"We won’t wait for invitations," added Mr. Stillwater. "We’ll run over
to breakfast or supper, just as the spirit moves us. We’ll take
possession while we’re here."
"You will always be very welcome whenever you care to come," answered
Lady Canning. "But we are not used to being taken unawares." She bowed
with a set smile, as she left the room leaning on her brother’s arm.
But her presence was still felt by a perceptible chill in the
atmosphere. Thurston, however, soon dispelled the restraint. He took
them through the house, entertaining them with histories of different
family relics, to which they listened with interest. Then they
adjourned to his own particular den, where all the trophies of his
travels were collected. Finally Indiana carried them off to her
apartments, leaving Thurston in his den. When they were all comfortably
installed in the boudoir, Indiana, leaning on her mother’s breast,
looked thoughtfully up in her face and then at the others. She could
scarcely realize that they were substantial creations.
"Indiana Stillwater," said Mrs. Bunker, "the way you crawl to that woman
is very un-American."
"In England it’s the custom for people to pay great respect to their
elders."
"That’s a nice slap in the face for us," remarked Mrs. Bunker.
"Grandma Chazy, you don’t want the deference due to age," answered
Indiana, propitiatingly. "You won’t for many years, I hope. Think of
treating ma and pa like that. They wouldn’t like it a bit."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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