XIV

"More beans, Oliver," says Mrs. Ellicott in a voice like thin syrup, her
"generous" voice. The generous voice is used whenever Mrs. Ellicott wants
to show herself a person of incredibly scrupulous fairness before that
bodiless assemblage of old women in black that constitute the They who
Say--and so it is used to Oliver nearly all the time.

"No thank you, Mrs. Ellicott." Oliver manages to look at her politely
enough as he speaks but then his eyes go straight back to Nancy and stay
there as if they wished to be considered permanent attachments. All Oliver
has been able to realize for the last two hours is the mere declarative
fact that she is _there_.

"Nancy!"

"No, thanks, mother."

And Nancy in her turn looks once swiftly at her mother, sitting there at
the end of the table like a faded grey sparrow whose feathers make it
uncomfortable. It isn't feathers, though, really--its only Oliver. Why
can't mother get reconciled to Oliver--why _can't_ she--and if she can't,
why doesn't she come out and say so instead of trying to be generous to
Oliver when she doesn't want to while he's there and then saying mean
things when he's away because she can't help it?