Transcribed from the 1922 Macmillan and Co. “DaisyMiller, Pandora, The Patagonia and Other Tales” edition byDavid Price, .  Proofing by ElizabethManzelli and Vanessa Mosher.

THE MARRIAGES
by Henry James

I

“Won’t you stay alittle longer?” the hostess asked while she held thegirl’s hand and smiled.  “It’s too earlyfor every one to go—it’s too absurd.” Mrs. Churchley inclined her head to one side and looked gracious;she flourished about her face, in a vaguely protecting shelteringway, an enormous fan of red feathers.  Everything in hercomposition, for Adela Chart, was enormous.  She had bigeyes, big teeth, big shoulders, big hands, big rings andbracelets, big jewels of every sort and many of them.  Thetrain of her crimson dress was longer than any other; her housewas huge; her drawing-room, especially now that the company hadleft it, looked vast, and it offered to the girl’s eyes acollection of the largest sofas and chairs, pictures, mirrors,clocks, that she had ever beheld.  Was Mrs.Churchley’s fortune also large, to account for so manyimmensities?  Of this Adela could know nothing, but itstruck her, while she smiled sweetly back at their entertainer,that she had better try to find out.  Mrs. Churchley had atleast a high-hung carriage drawn by the tallest horses, and inthe Row she was to be seen perched on a mighty hunter.  Shewas high and extensive herself, though not exactly fat; her boneswere big, her limbs were long, and her loud hurrying voiceresembled the bell of a steamboat.  While she spoke to hisdaughter she had the air of hiding from Colonel Chart, a littleshyly, behind the wide ostrich fan.  But Colonel Chart wasnot a man to be either ignored or eluded.

“Of course every one’s going on to somethingelse,” he said.  “I believe there are a lot ofthings to-night.”

“And where are you going?” Mrs. Churchleyasked, dropping her fan and turning her bright hard eyes on theColonel.

“Oh I don’t do that sort of thing!”—heused a tone of familiar resentment that fell with a certaineffect on his daughter’s ear.  She saw in it that hethought Mrs. Churchley might have done him a little morejustice.  But what made the honest soul suppose her a personto look to for a perception of fine shades?  Indeed theshade was one it might have been a little difficult toseize—the difference between “going on” andcoming to a dinner of twenty people.  The pair were inmourning; the second year had maintained it for Adela, but theColonel hadn’t objected to dining with Mrs. Churchley, anymore than he had objected at Easter to going down to theMillwards’, where he had met her and where the girl had herreasons for believing him to have known he should meet her. Adela wasn’t clear about the occasion of their originalmeeting, to which a certain mystery attached.  In Mrs.Churchley’s exclamation now there was the fullestconcurrence in Colonel Chart’s idea; she didn’t say“Ah yes, dear friend, I understand!” but this was thenote of sympathy she plainly wished to sound.  Itimmediately made Adela say to her “Surely you must be goingon somewhere yourself.”

“Yes, you must have a lot of places,” the Colonelconcurred, while his view of her shining raiment had an invidiousdirectness.  Adela could read the tacit implication:“You’re not in sorrow, in desolation.”

Mrs. Churchley turned away from her at this and just waitedbefore answering.  The red fan was up again, and this timeit sheltered her from Adela.  “I’ll giveeverything up—for ...