Paul, it is to be feared, was what hostesses call heavy in hand. He
laughed where he saw something to laugh at, but not elsewhere, which in
some circles is considered morose and in bad form. He joined readily
enough in the conversation, but originated nothing. Those topics which
occupied his mind did not present themselves as suitable to this
occasion. His devotion to Etta was quite obvious, and he was simple
enough not to care that it should be so.
Maggie was by turns quite silent and very talkative. When Paul and Etta
were speaking together she never looked at them, but fixedly at her own
plate, at a decanter, or a salt-cellar. When she spoke she addressed her
remarks--valueless enough in themselves--exclusively to the man she
disliked, Claude de Chauxville.
There was something amiss in the pretty little room. There were shadows
seated around that pretty little table a quatre, beside the guests in
their pretty dresses and their black coats; silent cold shadows, who ate
nothing, while they chilled the dainty food and took the sweetness from
the succulent dishes. These shadows had crept in unawares, a silent
partie carree, to take their phantom places at the table, and only Etta
seemed able to jostle hers aside and talk it down. She took the whole
burden of the conversation upon her pretty shoulders, and bore it
through the little banquet with unerring skill and unflinching good
humor.
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