Marriage -- Fiction; Washington (D.C.) -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
When Senator Thorndyke reached home an hour afterwards, he roused his
wife to tell her that he believed that Baskerville was in love with
Anne Clavering after all.
“And has been ever since he knew her; but men are so dense, he didn’t
know it himself—much less did you know it until it became as obvious as
the Washington Monument,” was Mrs. Thorndyke’s wifely reply.
_Chapter Nine_
The next day was a bright November Sunday, and after an early luncheon
Baskerville started out for a walk into the country. Anne Clavering
was much in his mind, and he was beginning to debate with himself in
this wise: if Senator Clavering had no delicacy about inviting him to
call, why should he be too delicate–minded to go? Which proves that
Baskerville was in love with Anne Clavering, or he would have said that
for him to go to a man’s house under the circumstances in which he
would enter Senator Clavering’s was an outrageous breach of propriety.
When he got well out of the town, he met the scanty congregation of a
small Episcopal chapel in the suburbs. Among those strolling homeward
he speedily recognized General Brandon and Elizabeth Darrell—and with
them Reginald Clavering. This only son of Senator Clavering’s was no
more like him than Anne was, and, indeed, very much resembled Anne,
except that he had neither her grace nor her intelligence. He had a
good and affectionate heart, and in a foolish, blundering way was
both an honest man and a gentleman. His life, however, was given over
to small and futile things, and even his piety, which was genuine,
embodied a childish worship of ecclesiastical trifles. He was the
mainstay, chief financial backer, and clerical man–of–all–work in the
little chapel, while his sisters, Élise and Lydia, fought with the
Brentwood–Baldwins at St. John’s, and Anne, after going to an early
morning service at the nearest church, devoted the rest of her Sunday
to her mother.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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