And he told her he had been immensely interested in
hearing of her marriage and that it was a great pleasure for him to
make Mr. Osmond's acquaintance-since he could hardly be said to have
made it on the other occasion. He had not written to her at the time
of that passage in her history, but he didn't apologize to her for
this. The only thing he implied was that they were old friends,
intimate friends. It was very much as an intimate friend that he
said to her, suddenly, after a short pause which he had occupied in
smiling, as he looked about him, like a person amused, at a provincial
entertainment, by some innocent game of guesses
-"Well now, I suppose you're very happy and all that sort of thing?"
Isabel answered with a quick laugh; the tone of his remark struck
her almost as the accent of comedy. "Do you suppose if I were not
I'd tell you?" "Well, I don't know. I don't see why not."
"I do then. Fortunately, however, I'm very happy."
"You've got an awfully good house."
"Yes, it's very pleasant. But that's not my merit-it's my
husband's."
"You mean he has arranged it?"
"Yes, it was nothing when we came."
"He must be very clever.
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