All that sort of talk might be very well, even necessary, perhaps (she told herself), for ordinary husbands and wives! but for her and Bertram-- Then vividly before her rose those initial quoted words: "Perhaps the first test comes when the young wife awakes to the realization that while her husband loves her very much, he can still make plans with his old friends which do not include herself." Billy frowned, and put her finger to her lips.

Was that then, last night, a "test"?
Had she been "tyrannical and exacting"?
Was she "everlastingly peering into the recesses" of Bertram's mind and "weighing his every act"?
Was Bertram already beginning to "chafe" under these new bonds that held him?
No, no, never that! She could not believe that.

But what if he should sometime begin to chafe?
What if they two should, in days to come, degenerate into just the ordinary, everyday married folk, whom she saw about her everywhere, and for whom just such horrid books as this must be written?
It was unbelievable, unthinkable.

And yet, that man had said-- With a despairing sigh Billy picked up the paper once more and read carefully every word again.

When she had finished she stood soberly thoughtful, her eyes out of the window.
After all, it was nothing but the same old story.