Cry she would not; for every reason.  Lizzie, coming in to carry away the plates, would see her, for one thing.  It would give her a blazing headache, for another.  It would not help her in the least to solve the problem ahead of her, for a third and best.  She must think it out clearly and reasonably, and—­and—­Mary’s lip began to quiver again, she would have to do it all alone.  Mamma was the last person in the world who could help her, and George wouldn’t.

For of course the trouble was Mamma again, and George—­

Mary wiped her eyes resolutely, finished a glass of water, drew a deep great breath.  Then she rang for Lizzie, and carried her letters to the shaded, cool little study back of the large drawing-room.  Fortified by the effort this required, she sank comfortably into a deep chair, and began to plan sensibly and collectedly.  Firstly, she reread Mamma’s letter.

Mary had seen this letter among others at her plate, only an hour ago.  A deep sigh, reminiscent of the recently suppressed storm, caught her unawares as she remembered how happy she and George had been over their breakfast until Mamma’s letter was opened.  Mary had not wanted to open it, suggesting carelessly that it might wait until later; she could tell George if there was anything in it.  But George had wanted to hear it read immediately, and of course there had been something in it.  There usually was something unexpected in Mamma’s letters.  In this one she broke the news to her daughter and son-in-law that she hated Milwaukee, she didn’t like Cousin Will’s house, children, or self, she had borrowed her ticket money from Cousin Will, and she was coming home on Tuesday.

Mary had gotten only this far when George, prefacing his remarks with a forcible and heartfelt “damn,” had said some very sharp and very inconsiderate things of Mamma.  He had said—­But no, Mary wouldn’t go over that.  She would not cry again.

The question was, what to do with Mamma now.  They had thought her so nicely settled with Cousin Will and his motherless boys, had packed her off to Milwaukee only a fortnight ago with such a generous check to cover incidental expenses, had felt that now, for a year or two at least, she was anchored.  And in so many ways it seemed a special blessing, this particular summer, to have Mamma out of the way,—­ comfortable and happy, but out of the way.  For Mary had packed her three babies and their nurse down to the cottage at Beach Meadow for the summer, and she and George had determined—­with only brief weekend intervals to break it—­to try staying in the New York house all summer.