Chapter 8 Summary

There had been the beginning of a friendship between Mrs. Wilcox and Meg when their families had met on vacation in Germany that summer. Now Meg wonders how to proceed with the friendship. Helen is going away, so the old issue with Paul should not be an immediate problem. Finally, Meg sends Mrs. Wilcox a letter saying that it would probably be best if the two of them did not meet. Given the fact that both Helen and Aunt Juley had both caused some measure of distress for the Wilcox family, they were already at a disadvantage. In addition, Meg does not want to risk any repeats of the situation between Helen and Paul.

Meg's letter is answered with one from Mrs. Wilcox that is bitingly short; Meg need not have written her such a letter because Paul has gone abroad. Meg is...