waited for the return of her other niece as long as she thought reasonable, but as at six oâclock Mrs. Ludlow had not come in, she prepared to take her departure.
ââYour sister must be a great gossip,ââ she said. ââIs she accustomed to staying out for hours?ââ
ââYou have been out almost as long as she,ââ Isabel answered; ââshe can have left the house but a short time before you came in.ââ
Mrs. Touchett looked at the girl without resentment; she appeared to enjoy a bold retort, and to be disposed to be gracious to her niece.
ââPerhaps she has not had so good an excuse as I. Tell her, at any rate, that she must come and see me this evening at that horrid hotel. She may bring her husband if she likes, but she neednât bring you. I shall see plenty of you later.ââ
4
MRS. LUDLOW was the eldest of the three sisters, and was usually thought the most sensible; the classification being in general that Lilian was the practical one, Edith the beauty, and Isabel the ââintellectualââ one. Mrs. Keyes, the second sister, was the wife of an officer in the United States Engineers, and as our history is not further concerned with her, it will be enough to say that she was indeed very pretty, and that she formed the ornament of those various military stations, chiefly in the unfashionable West, to which, to her deep chagrin, her husband was successively relegated. Lilian had married a New York lawyer, a young man with a loud voice and an enthusiasm for his profession; the match was not brilliant, any more than Edithâs had been, but Lilian had occasionally been spoken of as a young woman who might be thankful to marry at allâshe was so much plainer than her sisters. She was, however, very happy, and now, as the mother of two peremptory little boys, and the mistress of a house which presented a narrowness of new brown stone to Fifty-third Street, she had quite justified her claim to matrimony. She was short and plump, and, as people said, had improved since her marriage; the two things in life of which she was most distinctly conscious were her husbandâs force in argument and her sister Isabelâs originality. ââI have never felt like Isabelâs sister, and I am sure I never shall,ââ she had said to an intimate friend; a declaration which made it all the more creditable that she had been prolific in sisterly offices.
ââI want to see her safely marriedâthatâs what I want to see,ââ she frequently remarked to her husband.
ââWell, I must say I should have no particular desire to marry her,ââ Edmund Ludlow was accustomed to answer, in an extremely audible tone.
ââI know you say that for argument; you always take the opposite ground. I donât see what you have against her, except that she is so original.ââ
ââWell, I donât like originals; I like translations,ââ Mr. Ludlow had more than once replied. ââIsabel is written in a foreign tongue. I canât make her out. She ought to marry an Armenian, or a Portuguese.ââ
ââThatâs just what I am afraid she will do!ââ cried Lilian, who thought Isabel capable of anything.
She listened with great interest to the girlâs account of Mrs. Touchettâs visit, and in the evening prepared to comply with her commands. Of what Isabel said to her no report has remained, but her sisterâs words must have prompted a remark that she made to her husband in the conjugal chamber as the two were getting ready to go to the hotel.
ââI do hope immensely she will do something handsome for Isabel; she has evidently taken a great fancy to her.ââ
ââWhat is it you wish her to do?ââ Edmund Ludlow asked; ââmake her a big
ââYour sister must be a great gossip,ââ she said. ââIs she accustomed to staying out for hours?ââ
ââYou have been out almost as long as she,ââ Isabel answered; ââshe can have left the house but a short time before you came in.ââ
Mrs. Touchett looked at the girl without resentment; she appeared to enjoy a bold retort, and to be disposed to be gracious to her niece.
ââPerhaps she has not had so good an excuse as I. Tell her, at any rate, that she must come and see me this evening at that horrid hotel. She may bring her husband if she likes, but she neednât bring you. I shall see plenty of you later.ââ
4
MRS. LUDLOW was the eldest of the three sisters, and was usually thought the most sensible; the classification being in general that Lilian was the practical one, Edith the beauty, and Isabel the ââintellectualââ one. Mrs. Keyes, the second sister, was the wife of an officer in the United States Engineers, and as our history is not further concerned with her, it will be enough to say that she was indeed very pretty, and that she formed the ornament of those various military stations, chiefly in the unfashionable West, to which, to her deep chagrin, her husband was successively relegated. Lilian had married a New York lawyer, a young man with a loud voice and an enthusiasm for his profession; the match was not brilliant, any more than Edithâs had been, but Lilian had occasionally been spoken of as a young woman who might be thankful to marry at allâshe was so much plainer than her sisters. She was, however, very happy, and now, as the mother of two peremptory little boys, and the mistress of a house which presented a narrowness of new brown stone to Fifty-third Street, she had quite justified her claim to matrimony. She was short and plump, and, as people said, had improved since her marriage; the two things in life of which she was most distinctly conscious were her husbandâs force in argument and her sister Isabelâs originality. ââI have never felt like Isabelâs sister, and I am sure I never shall,ââ she had said to an intimate friend; a declaration which made it all the more creditable that she had been prolific in sisterly offices.
ââI want to see her safely marriedâthatâs what I want to see,ââ she frequently remarked to her husband.
ââWell, I must say I should have no particular desire to marry her,ââ Edmund Ludlow was accustomed to answer, in an extremely audible tone.
ââI know you say that for argument; you always take the opposite ground. I donât see what you have against her, except that she is so original.ââ
ââWell, I donât like originals; I like translations,ââ Mr. Ludlow had more than once replied. ââIsabel is written in a foreign tongue. I canât make her out. She ought to marry an Armenian, or a Portuguese.ââ
ââThatâs just what I am afraid she will do!ââ cried Lilian, who thought Isabel capable of anything.
She listened with great interest to the girlâs account of Mrs. Touchettâs visit, and in the evening prepared to comply with her commands. Of what Isabel said to her no report has remained, but her sisterâs words must have prompted a remark that she made to her husband in the conjugal chamber as the two were getting ready to go to the hotel.
ââI do hope immensely she will do something handsome for Isabel; she has evidently taken a great fancy to her.ââ
ââWhat is it you wish her to do?ââ Edmund Ludlow asked; ââmake her a big
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