The marriage has really turned out very well. Even Millersville admits
it. After all, Mamie Embury proved herself an exceptional woman, and
was quite able in every way to take her rightful place in society as
Marlin Embury’s wife. If her parents seemed below the Millersville
social level, no one dared dwell upon it. For young Mrs. Embury, under
her soft and blonde exterior, has rather a sharp manner at times and,
when necessary, can refer, in the pleasantest way, to things that have
taken place in the past—and even the best Millersville families have
their skeletons, forged cheques, little unnamed graves, jail sentences,
things like that. So, after all, a worthless father can’t be held
against a person, these days, all things considered.
Mamie is getting to be a bit of a snob, though, even her best friends
think, because she objects to Millersville’s newest rich belonging to
the “society” set and speaks about drawing more conservative lines. Her
father was the black sheep of the family, it appears. The Carpenters
are really an old Kentucky family and she often tells that her mother
was one of the Virginia Prichards. Millersville knows that there is
a great deal in heredity—that blood will tell—so her friends can
understand her seeming snobbishness.
Mamie is a charming hostess, and prettier than ever, even if she has
grown a bit rounder, and her husband is devoted to her. A poor girl who
married the richest man in town—it’s beautiful—and it’s such a relief,
with so many sordid things going on every day, to see real romance, a
genuine love match, once in a while.