f
she was willing to make grandmother wait.

"Ada," said Aunt Elizabeth, suddenly, as she sipped it, "what was Dr.
Denbigh's wife like?"

"Why," said mother, "I'd almost forgotten he had a wife, it was so long
ago. She died in the first year of their marriage."

Aunt Elizabeth laughed a little, almost as if no one were there. "He
began to talk about her quite suddenly this morning," she said. "It
seems Peg reminds him of her. He is devoted to her memory. That's what
he said--devoted to her memory."

"That's good," said mother, cheerfully, as if she didn't know quite what
to say. "More letters, Lily? Any for us?" I could see mother was very
tender of her for some reason, or she never would have called her Lily.

"For me," said Aunt Elizabeth, as if she were tired. "From Mrs.
Chataway. A package, too. It looks like visiting-cards. That seems to
be from her, too." She broke open the package. "Why!" said she, "of all
things! Why!"

"That's pretty engraving," said mother, looking over her shoulder.
She must have thought they were Aunt Elizabeth's cards. "Why! of all
things!"

Aunt Elizabeth began to flush pink and then scarlet. She looked as
pretty as a rose, but a little angry, I thought. She put up her head
rather haughtily. "Mrs. Chataway is very eccentric," she said. "A
genius, quite a genius in her own line. Ada, I won't come down to
luncheon. This has been sufficient. Let me have some tea in my own room
at four, please." She got up, and her letter and one of the cards fell
to the floor. I picked them up for her, and I saw on the card:

Mrs. Ronald Chataway
Magnetic Healer and Mediumistic Divulger
Lost Articles a Specialty

I don't know why, but I thought, like mother and Aunt Elizabeth, "Well,
of all things!"

But the rest of that day mother and I were too busy to exchange a
word about Mrs. Chataway or even Aunt Elizabeth. We plunged into my
preparations to sail, and talked dresses and hats, and ran ribbons in
things, and I burned letters and one photograph (I burned that without
looking at it), and suddenly mother got up quickly and dropped her
lapful of work. "My stars!" said she, "I've forgotten Aunt Elizabeth's
tea."

"It's of no consequence, dear," said Aunt Elizabeth's voice at the door.
"I asked Katie to bring it up."

"Why," said mother, "you're not going?"

I held my breath. Aunt Elizabeth looked so pretty. She was dressed, as
I never saw her before, a close-fitting black g