gentleman is a little younger than I am," she confessed, smiling; and
Mrs. O'Brien said:

"An' what difference does that make? He'll only be lovin' ye hotter than
an old fellow with the life all gone out o' him!"

Eleanor said, laughing, "Yes, that's true!" and cuddled the baby
grandson's head against her breast.

"You'll be happy as a queen!" said Mrs. O'Brien; and "in a year from
now you'll have something better to take care of than Bingo--_he'll_ be
jealous!"

But she hardly heeded Mrs. O'Brien and her joyful prophecy of Bingo's
approaching jealousy; having taken the dive, she had risen into the
light and air, and now she forgot the questioning depths! She was on the
crest of contented achievement. She even laughed to think that she had
ever hesitated about marrying Maurice. Absurd! As if the few years
between them were of the slightest consequence! Mrs. O'Brien was
right.... So she smoothed over Maurice's first bad moment with an
indifference as to Mr. Bradley's opinion which was most reassuring to
him. (Yet once in a while she thought of Mr. Houghton, and bit her lip.)

The next bad moment neither she nor Maurice could dismiss so easily; it
came in the interview with her astounded aunt, whose chief concern (when
she read the letter which Eleanor had left on her pincushion) was lest
the Houghtons would think she had inveigled the boy into marrying her
niece. To prove that she had not, Mrs. Newbolt told the bride and groom
that she would have nothing more to do with Eleanor! It was when the
fifty-four minutes had lengthened into three days that they had gone,