As to individuals he is perpetually disillusioned; as to causes he is as
obstinate as his mother. And independently of the Glenwilliam affair, that
is why, I think, in the end she preferred Coryston to Arthur, who will
'muddle through,' not knowing whither, like the majority of his kind.
"Marcia!--in her black dress, beside her mother, looking down upon
her--with that yearning look!--But--not a word! There are things too sacred
for these pages."
* * * * *
During the months of Lady Coryston's illness, indeed, Reginald Lester
entered, through stages scarcely perceived by himself and them, upon a new
relation toward the Coryston family. He became the increasingly intimate
friend and counselor of the Coryston brothers, and of Marcia, no less--but
in a fresh and profounder sense. He shared much of the estate business with
Mr. Page; he reconciled as best he could the jarring views of Coryston and
Arthur; he started on the reorganization of the great Library, in which, so
far, he had only dealt with a fraction of its possessions. And every day he
was Marcia's companion, in things intimate and moving, no less than in
the practical or commonplace affairs of ordinary life.
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