{"product_id":"2940012704931","title":"Margery","description":"Scanned, proofed and corrected from the original hardcover edition for enjoyable reading. (Worth every penny spent!)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e***\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn excerpt from the beginning of:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER IX\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIT WOULD be absurd to say that Margery looked forward to leaving town at the end of June without regret, even though she had told her husband with the most candid sincerity that a quiet month or two in the country would be enchanting. Enchanting, without doubt, she believed she would find them, but their enchantment would not have been in any way impaired if it had been postponed till the end of July. She was enjoying herself with such whole-hearted exuberance that it was impossible not to wish that it had not occurred to Arnold that he must get on with his work without further delay, or, in default of that, that it had been possible for him — with the British Museum and all its books and objects and professors so handy — to pursue his studies here in London. But it never occurred to her to argue, even tacitly, about those things. Arnold had said he must set to work again, and that he could not do so in town. And that, as far as Margery was concerned, was the end of any possible controversial attitude.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut from Mrs. Morrison's point of view it was only the beginning of a controversial attitude, and since Margery, in her note of regret that she could not dine on the nineteenth had mentioned the fact that they were leaving London early in July, her aunt came round next morning to talk about it and other things, choosing half-past twelve as a\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003esuitable hour, for she could then have what she called a \" good \" talk to her niece and almost certainly be asked to lunch at the end of it, in case she was lunching at home. She particularly liked lunching with Margery, because all sorts of people dropped in. At her house people never dropped in; they only came when they were asked, and went away immediately afterward, while the pudding, so to speak, if not the meat, was yet in their mouths.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMargery, it may be mentioned, had since her marriage come to occupy a very different place in her aunt's estimation, and Mrs. Morrison now regarded her with a variety of mean, mixed feelings, instead of considering her as a type of insignificance. Margery had made (inexplicable though it seemed) a brilliant marriage. For that Mrs. Morrison respected her, envied her, and disliked her. Margery was quite capable now of \" doing things \" for her aunt, and for that reason Mrs. Morrison both made up to her, and simultaneously resented the fact that she should be able to do so. Then with a confusion of mind that was almost pathetic, she had a secret grudge against the present brilliant and popular Margery for having refused to marry Walter, whereas at the time when she refused, Mrs. Morrison would have considered her a monster of ingratitude and deception had she done anything else. Also she had deprived Olive of the chance (which was really non-existent) of marrying Arnold. Arnold was to blame here, too; it appeared to Mrs. Morrison that he had really jilted Olive, though he had never had the smallest thought of asking her to marry him. At the same time he had married Margery, which fed Mrs. Morrison's self-esteem, for it showed what kindness (her kindness) and sense of duty (her sense of duty) could make of a girl who came out of the slums. Also — it was without the faintest suspicion of its baselessness that she said this to herself — she had brought them together. This deplorable jumble of falsities, thus briefly catalogued, will indicate her general mental attitude toward her niece, and account for the rich and varied nature of her conversation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe rustled hurriedly into the room, and put the fat Japanese pug she carried on to the hearthrug, where it instantly fell asleep.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Delightful to find you in, dear,\" she said, \"and as for once I have half-an-hour to spare, though I am sure the rest of the day is just a mosaic of engagements, and I had to take Pug out for a little air, I managed to come round, for if you're going away early in July, it's little enough I shall see of you, and your not being able to come on the nineteenth is a great disappointment. I think you might have left the nineteenth open, Margery, for you must have known well that I always give my musical party on the nineteenth or thereabouts, if it isn't a Sunday, and after all these years I wasn't likely to alter my date. But there it is, and no doubt it was foolish of me to expect you could come without making sure, and I left Olive arranging the table all over again. But dear Olive is very capable and domestic, and does not want to be rushing about after pleasures all day and night, but is contented to do her home duties, and be my companion, and all disappointments and upset expectations, I declare, worry her less than they do me, for I never hear a word of complaint. Dear me, Pug is asleep again; I often wonder if he gets too much exercise.\"","brand":"OGB","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47081835299056,"sku":"2940012704931","price":1.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940012704931_p0.jpg?v=1763571626","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940012704931","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}