Page:The Bostonians (London & New York, Macmillan & Co., 1886).djvu/103

 'Gracious me!' cried Verena Tarrant; and the gay vibration of her voice as she uttered this simple ejaculation was the last that Ransom heard of her. Miss Chancellor swept her out of the room, leaving the young man to extract a relish from the ineffable irony with which she uttered the words 'even a woman.' It was to be supposed, on general grounds, that she would reappear, but there was nothing in the glance she gave him, as she turned her back, that was an earnest of this. He stood there a moment, wondering; then his wonder spent itself on the page of a book which, according to his habit at such times, he had mechanically taken up, and in which he speedily became interested. He read it for five minutes in an uncomfortable-looking attitude, and quite forgot that he had been forsaken. He was recalled to this fact by the entrance of Mrs. Luna, arrayed as if for the street, and putting on her gloves again—she seemed always to be putting on her gloves. She wanted to know what in the world he was doing there alone—whether her sister had not been notified.

'Oh yes,' said Ransom, 'she has just been with me, but she has gone downstairs with Miss Tarrant.'

'And who in the world is Miss Tarrant?'

Ransom was surprised that Mrs. Luna should not know of the intimacy of the two young ladies, in spite of the brevity of their acquaintance, being already so great. But, apparently, Miss Olive had not mentioned her new friend. 'Well, she is an inspirational speaker—the most charming creature in the world!'

Mrs. Luna paused in her manipulations, gave an amazed, amused stare, then caused the room to ring with her laughter. 'You don't mean to say you are converted already?'

'Converted to Miss Tarrant, decidedly.'

'You are not to belong to any Miss Tarrant; you are to belong to me,' Mrs. Luna said, having thought over her Southern kinsman during the twenty-four hours, and made up her mind that he would be a good man for a lone woman to know. Then she added: 'Did you come here to meet her the inspirational speaker?'

'No; I came to bid your sister good-bye.'