comparatively unnoticed, although there were always a few boats
going out, and few men on the tennis courts. But when the tide was
high in the afternoon, even Bert admitted that it was "darned
conspicuous" for the family to file across the vision of the women
who were playing bridge on the porch, and for Anne to shriek over
her water-wings and the boys to yell, as they inevitably did yell,
"Gee--it's cold!"

Their real reason for more or less abandoning the habit was that
there was so much else to do. Bert played golf, Nancy learned to
score tennis as she watched it, and to avoid applause for errors,
and to play excellent bridge for quarter-cent points. She went to
two or three luncheons sometimes in a single week; and cold Sunday
lunches, with much passing of beer and sharing of plates, were
popular at Marlborough Gardens. Holly Court was especially suited
to this sort of hospitality, and it was an easy sort to extend.
Nancy sent the children off with Agnes, bribed her cook, bribed
the laundress to wash all the table linen twice weekly, and on
special occasions employed a large, efficient Swedish woman from
the village for a day, or a week-end. "I'll get Christiana," was
one of the phrases that fell frequently from Nancy's lips.




Chapter Twenty-two


Miraculously, finances stood the strain. Bert was doing well, and
sometimes made several good commissions together--not as large as