see her any more. But he balked at that. He found it impossible to tell an American girl he was living quite openly with a very jealous young woman to whom he was not married. Alice had always pretended to be immensely broad-minded, but he imagined that her broad-mindedness dealt with general rather than particular lapses, and he avoided the issue.
Alice did not seem to be enjoying her usually blissful good health. She had lost weight, color and energy. Europe had not agreed with her, and her parents were in a hurry to get her home. At last they were able to fix the date of their departure, and at that, as if she felt the opportunity might never occur again, Alice began to make a great to-do about seeing the whole of Paris that she had not yet seen. It was a large order and put Edward in an embarrassing situation. She insisted upon his going about with her, and Anne began to feel neglected.
One night Anne amused herself by shooting an arrow into the air. She said, "Why didn't you tell me that your friends the Ruggles were back in Paris?"
Edward's face answered for him. He had no other answer. The question had been too sudden and unexpected.
