Nothing more was said, no mention made of the wild-rose siren who shadowed their happiness. Each understood life was to go on in even fashion. Lorraine would gain her joy and satisfaction from being Dan’s wife, with the pleasure of possessions; she was born to be a housewife and would have been depressed and useless in any other channel. Dan was born to dominate, to be successful in whatsoever he undertook, tyrannical, aggressive, honest and without fear. Dan would find his peace of mind in his business, more and more engrossed in it each month, in the town’s development. Each impersonally would be able to endure the strain of personal unhappiness. To be able to entertain all the social clubs in the big, sunny parlors with over-stuffed tapestry furniture, the baby grand player, three parlor lamps, a large engraving of “Daniel in the Lion’s Den,” to say nothing of the American oriental rugs and the mahogany grandfather’s clock that played the Canterbury quarters—that was a genuine satisfaction to Lorraine Birge. True, she would have been more happy as the loved wife of Dan Birge, even had they lived as did his rumored ancestor—a trapper’s roving, wild life. But that not being the case, Lorraine had the convenient ability to transfer her happiness into things, into becoming a hospitable young matron who followed conventional ways with amusing docility. To have chicken salad made of real chicken and not a hint of veal, coffee with endless whipped cream and loaf sugar, fresh peach ice cream and angel food for the refreshment of her Bible class was a positive joy to Lorraine; to be able to help Mary How, the girl who had been “unfortunate,” was a greater joy; to see that the struggling little church had a new carpet and a leather upholstered chair for the minister, to give a set of new anthems to the choir—such things as these dulled the doubts in her heart. “She must be happy and he must be glad he married her,” was the consensus of opinion. “She spends as much as a queen and Sunday she had on the fourth new dress since she came home a bride, to say nothing of hats.” “Dan Birge give her pa an overcoat with real Astrakhan collar and cuffs on it and you never see him now without he’s got a cigar stuck in his mouth—do you think it looks well for a minister? Some say they don’t like it. Lorraine’s got a la va-leer necklace and a bracelet watch and a diamond ring besides her engagement ring and she hires a woman to wash and clean.... She better go slow or the money will build her right up. I remember how she washed every mite of clothes she and her pa had.”