And now she was at a disadvantage--was she?
Let her provide herself at once, or old as he was, he would take train and steamer and come and see to it! She was not submissive in general--far from it.

But the reading of Uncle Ben's letter had left her very meek in spirit and rather inclined to cry.
Had Uncle Ben really considered whether it was right to spend so much money on oneself, to think so much about it?
Their life together had been so simple, the question had hardly emerged.

Of course it was right to be neat and fresh, and to please his taste in what she wore.

But-- The net result of all this internal debate, however, was to give a peculiar charm, like the charm of rippled and sensitive water, to features that were generally too still and grave.

She stood silently before the long glass while Mrs.Burgoyne and the maids talked and pinned.