Hector had gone from Monte Carlo to Venice, and then to Paris, where he
had been for more than a month, and she had heard that men could become
quite infatuated and absolutely ruined by these creatures. So for him to
have taken a fancy to a married American was considerably better than
that. She had met several members of this nation herself in England, and
were they not always very discreet, with well-balanced heads! So
altogether the puckered frown soon left her smooth brow, and she was
able to resume the knitting of a tie she was doing for her son, with a
spirit more or less at rest, though she sighed now and then as she
remembered Morella Winmarleigh could not be expected to wait
forever--and her cherished vision of perfectly behaved, vigorously
healthy grandchildren was still a long way from being realized. For with
such a mother what perfect children they would be! This was always her
final reflection.