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A Marriage Below Zero.
139

of books, dip into catalogues, and taste literature, as it were, from the outside.

He was really so entertaining that at times I forgot I was only playing a part. I could not help thinking that he would have enjoyed the conversation just as much if it had taken place with somebody else. I suppose I seemed rather bright—some women as shallow as I was often manage to appear so. I do not believe he appreciated this brightness because it belonged to his wife, but merely—bah; I hate analysis. After all, what I believed on this subject is neither here nor there.

I made not the slightest impression upon Arthur Ravener. A month had flown by since I had stood in my dollish finery at the hymeneal altar. Our walks had been dropped. That was one of the effects of my policy. He seemed perfectly satisfied. He had evidently thought that these "constitutionals" were necessary for my happiness. If I chose to discontinue them—well, then, they were not necessary for my happiness. It was very simple after all.

At breakfast, at luncheon, and at dinner, here