"It's very delightful; I think you'll
suit very well."
"You think I shall suit you?"
"You'll suit me beautifully; but what I mean is that you and papa
will suit each other. You're both so quiet and so serious. You're
not so quiet as he-or even as Madame Merle; but you're more quiet than
many others. He should not for instance have a wife like my aunt.
She's always in motion, in agitation-to-day especially; you'll see
when she comes in. They told us at the convent it was wrong to judge
our elders, but I suppose there's no harm if we judge them favourably.
You'll be a delightful companion for papa."
"For you too, I hope," Isabel said.
"I speak first of him on purpose. I've told you already what I
myself think of you; I liked you from the first. I admire you so
much that I think it will be a good fortune to have you always
before me. You'll be my model; I shall try to imitate you though I'm
afraid it will be very feeble. I'm very glad for papa-he needed
something more than me. Without you I don't see how he could have
got it. You'll be my stepmother, but we mustn't use that word. They're
always said to be cruel; but I don't think you'll ever so much as
pinch or even push me.
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