But I see she is not, and I am relieved."
"Mrs. Morris regretted she couldn't come," Lee told her inanely; and
his hostess replied:
"I can't at all say that I believe you--I was so upset I couldn't
resist the attempt. But I hope she understood that it was absolutely
impossible for me to go to Eastlake."
He nodded, a shade annoyed by the briskness of her attack.
"We are immensely concerned about Mina," Mrs. Grove went on. "You see,
with our son killed in the Lafayette Escadrille early in the war,
practically she has been our only child. She is a daughter of a cousin
of William's. Mina, I must admit, has become very difficult; I suppose
because of her genius. She is perfectly amenable about everything in
the world, until her mind gets set, like concrete, and then she is out
of reach. Tell me a little about Mr. and Mrs. Morris."
Lee Randon spoke sharply for a minute or two, and a frown gathered on
his hearer's brow. "Why," she observed, "it is worse than I had hoped.
But I should have guessed from the name--Peyton Morris. I am very
sorry; you are fond of her, of Claire, that is evident."
"I should not have come here for any other reason," he admitted. "I am
not much of a meddler: it is so dangerous for everyone concerned. Then
it might be that this was the best for all three of them."
"What a curious, contradictory thing for you to say," she commented,
studying him.
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