As Nan replied conventionally to Lady Gertrude’s greeting, some such thoughts as these flashed fugitively through her mind, and with them came a rather tender, girlish determination, to make the transition as easy as possible to the elder woman when the time came for it.  The situation made a quick appeal to her eager sympathies.  She could imagine so exactly how she herself would detest it if she were in the other woman’s position.  Somewhat absorbed in this line of thought, she followed her hostess into a stiff and formal-looking drawing-room which conveyed the same sense of frigidity as Lady Gertrude’s welcome.

There are some rooms you seem to know and love almost the moment you enter them, while with others you feel that you will never get on terms of friendliness.  Nan suddenly longed for the dear, comfortable intimacy of the panelled hall at Mallow, with its masses of freshly-cut flowers making a riot of colour against the dark oak background, its Persian rugs dimmed to a mellow richness by the passage of time, and the sweet, “homey” atmosphere of it all.

Behind her back she made a desperate little gesture to Roger that he should follow her, but he shook his head laughingly and went off in another direction, thinking in his unsubtle mind that this was just the occasion for his mother and his future wife to get well acquainted.

He felt sure that Nan’s charm would soon overcome the various objections which Lady Gertrude had raised to the engagement when he had first confided his news to her.  She had not minced matters.

“But, my dear Roger, from all I’ve heard, Nan Davenant is a most unsuitable woman to be your wife.  For one thing, she is, I believe, a professional pianist.”  The thin lips seemed to grow still thinner as they propounded the indictment.

Most people, nowadays, would have laughed outright, but Roger, being altogether out of touch with the modern attitude towards such matters, regarded his mother’s objection as quite a normal and reasonable one.  It must be overcome in this particular instance, that was all.

“But, of course, Nan will give up everything of that kind when she’s my wife,” he asserted confidently.  And quite believed it, since he had a touching faith in the idea that a woman can be “moulded” by her husband.

“Roger has rather taken me by surprise with the news of his engagement,” said Lady Gertrude, after she and Nan had exchanged a few laboured platitudes.  “Do you think you will be happy with him?  We live a very simple country existence here, you know.”

To Nan, the use of the word “we” sounded rather as though she were proposing to marry the family.

“Oh, I like country life very much,” she replied.  “After all, you can always vary the monotony by running up to town or going abroad, can’t you?”

“I don’t think Roger cares much for travelling about.  He is extremely attached to his home.  We have always made everything so easy and comfortable for him here, you see,” responded Lady Gertrude, with a certain significance.