On the other hand, home conditions were well-nigh imperative. Love and Hubert were all very well, but they were part of the world of romance. The family, with their concrete needs, were actuality. Jennie thought of each one of them in turn, but of Teddy most of all. Among those of her own generation, he was her favorite. If she became openly Mrs. Robert Bradley Collingham, Junior, of Marillo Park, Teddy would go far. He might have a place like Mr. Brunt’s. Only the other day her father had said of Mr. Brunt, "There’s one who don’t have any trouble in pickling down his ten a week." To see Teddy pickling down his ten a week, which would be more than five hundred dollars in a year, Jennie was ready to submit to almost anything—even Bob’s hands on her person. She might get used to them, and, if she didn’t, why, the daily sacrifice would be not without its reward. She had reached something like this decision when Mrs. Collingham came back. Watching her from the minute when she rounded the corner of the flagged pavement, Jennie noted a rapid change in her expression. At first it was terrible—that of a queen in wrath. As she approached the bird cage, however, it cleared so quickly that by the time she reached the threshold it was almost tender. "That’s because she likes me," Jennie said to herself. She was accustomed to being liked, though especially by men. "I think it will cheer her up if I say right off that I’ve come to stay with her." To make this announcement she had risen to her feet, with lips already parted; but Mrs. Collingham forestalled her. "Sit down again, my dear. I want to talk to you some more. I must tell you about Mr. Collingham." She herself sank into the chair near Jennie which she had already occupied. She panted as after a difficult experience. "Oh dear! It’s been so trying! You don’t know him, do you? Well, he’s a good man—kind and just in his way—but oh, so stern and relentless! If he knew what Bob had done in going through that mad thing with you, he’d turn the boy adrift." Having reseated herself already, Jennie now closed her lips. She had forgotten Mr. Collingham. Coming to stay was meeting a new obstacle. "It’s only fair to you to make you understand what kind of man my husband is. Of course, he’s a strong man, otherwise he wouldn’t have accomplished all he has. My son, my daughter, I myself—we’re but puppets on his string. His word has to be law to us. And with Bob the way he is—wanting to marry every girl he meets—and forgetting her next day—his father has no patience. You don’t know how hard it is for me, my dear, always to have to stand between them." As she paused to dab her eyes, Jennie saw the limousine, the villa, with Teddy’s chance of pickling down ten a week, fading out like a picture in the movies.