And she seduced him; he was quite a youngster."

It all sounded as though the years, the many years, had never existed.

"Yes, but, you know, it's sometimes difficult, for a woman who's young
and pretty...."

"Then why did she marry such an old man?"

"Out of vanity, nothing but vanity."

They judged, defended and condemned her as though the years, the many
years, had never existed.

The acquaintances of the Van Lowes, or of their acquaintances, or the
relations of their relations were no worse than other people. But they
met one another at tea-parties and at evening-parties, at the Witte and
at Scheveningen, and they must have food for conversation. Whatever
important things might be happening in the world, the one interest, when
all was said, was to discuss, over and over again, a case like that of
Constance. They disliked neither her nor Van der Welcke; and her case
even attracted their interest, if not their sympathies. Only, the Van
der Welckes must not think that their memory was so poor that they did
not remember the "case" jolly well.... Only, the Van der Welckes ought
not to have come back to the Hague, bringing fresh scandal into the
exalted morality of the different Hague sets.... Only, there must be no
question that people who were so much talked about should dream of being
presented to Court....

"And nevertheless they do intend to be presented...."

Constance, in her quiet happiness, noticed none of it; and Van der
Welcke, who, at the club, was within nearer range of the cross-fire, did
indeed sometimes observe a look and gesture, sometimes overheard a word,
but thought it of no consequence, even when it caused him a moment's
irritation.

CHAPTER XXIX

After the summer holidays, Addie, who was now in the third class at the
Grammar School, sometimes went to his Van Saetzema cousins on a Sunday
afternoon, rather against the grain, for there was not much love lost
between them. But, as he had not failed to notice that the three boys
tired his mother greatly when they came to the little house, however
much she liked to keep up the relationship, he made it a sort of duty to
go to them once a fortnight, or so, either for a walk or for a
bicycle-ride. It was more natural to him to go about with boys who were
his seniors; he had made a couple of older friends at the Grammar
School; and even Frans and Henri van Naghel, who were young fellows of
twenty-three and twenty-four, said that it might so