"You needn't shake your head at me, Mother," she remarked
lightly. "Of course I know you are making him take her when he would
rather a hundred times go with Patty Vetch."
The frown on Mrs. Culpeper's face turned to a look of panic. "Mary Byrd,
you are impossible," she said sternly.
"I saw Cousin Corinna yesterday," observed Victoria indiscreetly. "She
is going to take Patty Vetch."
Mrs. Culpeper said nothing, but her fine black brows drew ominously
together. She had worked so busily over the coffee urn and the sugar
bowl that she had not had time to eat her breakfast, and the oatmeal in
the plate before her had grown stiff and cold before she tasted it. When
Stephen stooped to kiss her cheek before going out, she looked up at him
with a proud and admiring glance. "I hope you remembered to order
flowers for Margaret?"
He laughed. It was so characteristic of her to feel that even his love
affairs must be managed! "Yes, I ordered gardenias. Is that right?"
When she nodded amiably, he turned away and went out into the hall,
where he found his father waiting.
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