"Not while we keep it to ourselves, as of course we must," Chris answered, in displeasure. "No one but ourselves will ever know----" "The whole world will know!" Norma said, in sudden impatience with smoothing and hiding and pretending. Chris straightened his eyeglasses on their ribbon, and gave her his scrutinizing, unruffled glance. "That would be foolish, I think, Norma!" he told her, calmly. "It would be a most unnecessary piece of vulgarity. Old families are constantly hushing up unfortunate chapters in their history; there is no reason why the whole thing should not be kept an absolute secret. My dear girl, you have just had a most extraordinary piece of good fortune--but you must be very careful how you take it! You will be--you are--a tremendously wealthy woman--and you will be in the public eye. Upon how you conduct yourself now your future position largely depends. Annie can--and I believe will--gladly assist you. Acton and Leslie will go abroad, I suppose--they can't live here. But a breath of scandal--or an ill-advised slip on your part--would make us all ridiculous. You must play your cards carefully. If you could stay with Annie, now----" "I _hate_ Aunt Annie!" Norma interrupted, childishly. "My dear girl--you're over-tired, you don't mean what you say!" Chris said, putting his hand on her arm. Under the light touch she dropped her eyes, and stood still. "Norma, do be advised by me in this," he urged her earnestly. "It is one of the most important crises in your life. Annie can put you exactly where you want to be, introduced and accepted everywhere--a constant guest in her house, in her opera box, or Annie can drop you--I've seen her do it!--and it would take you ten years to make up the lost ground!" "It didn't take Annie ten years to be a--a--social leader!" Norma argued, resentfully. "Annie? Ah, my dear, a woman like Annie isn't born twice in a hundred years! She has--but you know what she has, Norma. Languages, experiences, friends--most of all she has the grand manner--the _belle aire_." Norma was fighting to regain her composure over almost unbearable hurt and chagrin. "But, Chris," she argued, desperately, "you've always said that you had no particular use for Annie's crowd--that you'd rather live in some little Italian place--or travel slowly through India----"