For although she said nothing and forced a smile, he could easily tell by the set of her lips that Deborah thoroughly disapproved.

All right, that was her way, he thought.

But this was Laura's way, shedding the gloom and the tragic side as a duck will shed water off its back, a duck with bright new plumage fresh from the shops of the Rue de la Paix and taking some pleasure out of life! What an ardent gleaming beauty she was, he thought as he watched this daughter of his.

And underneath his enjoyment, too, though Roger would not have admitted it, was a sense of relief in the news that at least one man in the family was growing rich instead of poor.

Already Hal and his partner--a fascinating creature according to Laura's description--were fast equipping shrapnel mills.