The house servants at Las Palmas were, on the whole, well trained,
and Mrs. Austin's periodic absences excited no comment; in the
present instance, Dolores fixed a bath and laid out clean clothes
with no more than a running accompaniment of chatter concerned
with household affairs. Dolores, indeed, was superior to the
ordinary servant; she was a woman of some managerial ability, and
she combined the duties of personal maid with those of
housekeeper. She was a great gossip, and possessed such a talent
for gaining information that through her husband, Benito, the
range boss, she was able to keep her mistress in fairly intimate
touch with ranch matters.
Alaire, however, was at this moment in no mood to resume the
tiresome details of management; she quickly dismissed her servitor
and proceeded to revel in the luxury of a cool bath, after which
she took a nap. Later, as she leisurely dressed herself, she
acknowledged that it was good to feel the physical comforts of her
own house, even though her home-coming gave her no especial joy.
She made it a religious practice to dress for dinner, regardless
of Ed's presence, though often for weeks at a time she sat in
solitary state, presiding over an empty table.
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