"My dear," said Edith judiciously, "I think you're doing wrong."
Marian dabbed her eyes with a very wet handkerchief and said nothing.
Edith adjusted the folds of her morning gown and assumed a more
comfortable position on the couch.
"They all have to be managed," she went on, "and you'll find that Mr.
Thomas Drayton is no exception. I'll venture that when he makes his
visits, which are like those of angels, 'few and far between' you tell
him how lonesome you've been without him, and how you've thought of him
every minute since the last time, and perhaps even cry a little bit! Am
I right?"
Marian nodded. "If it wasn't for that hateful Perkins girl, I wouldn't
care so much. She's neither bright nor pretty, and I'm sure I don't see
what Tom sees in her. I think it's more her fault than his."
"The Perkins girl is entirely blameless, Miss Reynolds, though she
certainly is unpleasant. It is Tom's fault."
The afflicted Miss Reynolds wiped her eyes again. "Perhaps it's mine.
If I were quite what I ought to be, Tom wouldn't seek other society,
I'm sure."
Mrs. Bently sat up straight. "Marian Reynolds," she demanded, "have you
ever said anything like that to Tom?"
"Something like that," Marian admitted. "What should I have done?"
"Thrown a book at him," responded Mrs. Bently energetically. Then
she leaned back among the pillows, and twisted the corners of her
handkerchief.
"Don't be horrid, Edith, but tell me what to do," pleaded Marian.
Mrs. Bently looked straight out of the window. "I've been married
nearly ten years," she said meditatively, "and I point with pardonable
pride to my husband. There hasn't been any of the 'other woman
business' since the first days of our engagement. He never forgets the
little words of endearment, he brings me flowers, and books, and he's
quite as polite to me as he is to other women."
"I know," replied Marian. "I've seen him break away from a crowd in
the middle of a sentence to put your rubbers on for you."
"All that," resumed Edith, "is the result of careful training. And what
Tom needs is heroic treatment. If you will promise to do exactly as I
say, you will have his entire devotion inside of a month."
"I promise," responded Marian hopefully.
"First, then, take off your engagement ring."
Marian's pretty brown head drooped lower and lower, and a brighter
diamond fell into her lap. She felt again the passionate tenderness in
his voice when he told her how much he loved her, and she remembered
how he had kissed each finger-tip separately, then the diamond, just
because it was hers.