He greeted all the ladies present, and the conversation became general.
A little later on, Leonidas and the girls came in from their walk, and the family party separated to get ready for dinner, and at the usual hour met again around the table.
The next morning Dr. Ingle called to keep an appointment with Miss Meeke. He came in his gig to take her to the village to inspect a certain house that he thought of leasing. But she ordered him to send his gig to the stable, and let his horse rest, while he availed himself of the family carriage in which to take her and her invited company, her little pupils, to see the house on trial.
And these being the days of her power and his slavery, he obeyed without a murmur, and gave up his anticipated _tête-à-tête_ drive with his betrothed, with as good a grace as he could assume.
Miss Meeke then gave her impromptu invitation to her little friends to accompany her in a drive; and, as they eagerly accepted the invitation, she sent Wynnette to order the carriage; all this was done according to a prearrangement with Mrs. Force.
"And we will not interrupt you and Leonidas all day long, for we are going to take lunch with us in the carriage, and we won't be home till night--maybe not till morning!
sang Wynnette, as she kissed her elder sister good-by, before running out to jump into the carriage.
Odalite and Leonidas, standing at the front window of the drawing room, watched their departure until the carriage passed through the west gate and rolled out of sight into the woods beyond.
Then they turned toward the fireplace, around, or near, which their father, mother and guest were seated.
And then it was that Mrs. Force announced to the little group the approaching marriage of Dr. Ingle and Miss Meeke.
"Natalie going to leave us!" exclaimed Mr. Force, in mock despair.
"'I never had a dear gazelle To love me with its soft, dark eye, But came a loafing ne'er-do-well And stole her from me on the sly!'"
"Girls never know what's their own good," said Mrs. Anglesea, in all solemnity; "nor no more won't they learn nothing from experience! One girl marries and comes to grief; another sees that, and marries and comes to grief, also; a third does likewise; a fourth follows suit; and so on to the end of the chapter! Girls are just what I read som'er's or other about them and the pigs and the hot swill. You set a pail of it in the yard, and one pig will run and dip his nose into it, and run off scalded and squealing like mad; another sees that, but, all the same, dips his nose and runs off scalded and squealing like a house afire; and a third does likewise, and a fourth follows suit! And so on till the whole herd are scalded! And the girls are just like that!" concluded the lady from the land of gold.