"Then you will be _compagnon de voyage_," said Graydon, with
undisguised pleasure.
Somewhat to Mrs. Wildmere's surprise, her husband quietly acquiesced
in his daughter's wishes, telegraphed for rooms, and desired his wife
to be ready.
She was a quiet, meek little woman, whose life had somehow become
entangled in a sphere which was not in harmony with her nature. Her
beauty had faded early, and she had little force of character with
which to maintain her influence over her husband. His life was amid the
fierce excitements of Wall Street; hers, as far as she had a life,
was a weary effort to keep up appearances and meet the expenses of a
fashionable daughter, on an uncertain and greatly fluctuating income.
Mr. Wildmere informed her that his affairs would keep him in town
until late in the following week, but that, as the house to which she
was going was a quiet family hotel, she would have no trouble.
Mr. Muir had telegraphed the arrival of his brother, and the latter
had written a few cordial but hasty lines to both his sister-in-law
and Madge. Where he spent his evenings was unknown to Mr. Muir, but
that gentleman had little trouble in guessing when he saw his brother
greet the Wildmeres as if he understood their plans, and laughingly
promise Mr.
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