how charming her well-kept lawn and belt of high trees
beyond looked today, she felt sorry that she had not
written one or two little notes and bidden some of her
Witanbury Close acquaintances come out and have tea.
The Dean, for instance, might have come. Even Mrs.
Otway, Alick's friend, would have been better than
nobody!

Considering that she did not like her, it was curious
that Mrs. Guthrie was one of the very few women in
that neighbourhood who realised that the mistress of
the Trellis House was an exceptionally attractive person.
More than once -- in fact almost always after
chance had brought the two ladies in contact, Mrs.
Guthrie would observe briskly to her son, "It's rather
odd that your Mrs. Otway has never married again!"
And it always amused her to notice that it irritated
Alick to hear her say this. It was the Scotch bit of
him which made Alick at once so shy and so sentimental
where women were concerned.

Mrs. Guthrie had no idea how very often her son
went to the Trellis House, but even had she known it
she would only have smiled satirically. She had but
little sympathy with platonic friendships, and she recognised,
with that shrewd mother-sense so many women
acquire late in life, that Mrs. Otway was a most
undesigning widow.

Not that it would have _really_ mattered if she had
been the other sort. Major Guthrie's own private
means were small. It was true that after his mother's
death he would be quite well off, but Mrs. Guthrie, even
if she had a weak heart, did not think herself likely to
die for a long, long time.... And yet, as time went
on, and as the old lady became, perhaps, a thought less

[[155]]

p154 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p155w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p156

v?