Edna's father was in the city, and had been with them several days.
She was not very warmly or deeply attached to him, but they had certain
tastes in common, and when together they were companionable. His coming
was in the nature of a welcome disturbance; it seemed to furnish a new
direction for her emotions.
He had come to purchase a wedding gift for his daughter, Janet, and an
outfit for himself in which he might make a creditable appearance at
her marriage. Mr. Pontellier had selected the bridal gift, as every
one immediately connected with him always deferred to his taste in such
matters. And his suggestions on the question of dress--which too
often assumes the nature of a problem--were of inestimable value to his
father-in-law. But for the past few days the old gentleman had been upon
Edna's hands, and in his society she was becoming acquainted with a new
set of sensations. He had been a colonel in the Confederate army, and
still maintained, with the title, the military bearing which had always
accompanied it. His hair and mustache were white and silky, emphasizing
the rugged bronze of his face. He was tall and thin, and wore his coats
padded, which gave a fictitious breadth and depth to his shoulders
and chest. Edna and her father looked very distinguished together, and
excited a good deal of notice during their perambulations. Upon his
arrival she began by introducing him to her atelier and making a sketch
of him. He took the whole matter very seriously. If her talent had been
ten-fold greater than it was, it would not have surprised him, convinced
as he was that he had bequeathed to all of his daughters the germs of a
masterful capability, which only depended upon their own efforts to be
directed toward successful achievement.
Before her pencil he sat rigid and unflinching, as he had faced the
cannon's mouth in days gone by. He resented the intrusion of the
children, who gaped with wondering eyes at him, sitting so stiff up
there in their mother's bright atelier. When they drew near he motioned
them away with an expressive action of the foot, loath to disturb the
fixed lines of his countenance, his arms, or his rigid shoulders.
Edna, anxious to entertain him, invited Mademoiselle Reisz to meet
him, having promised him a treat in her piano playing; but Mademoiselle
declined the invitation. So together they attended a soiree musicale
at the Ratignolles'. Monsieur and Madame Ratignolle made much of the
Colonel, installing him as the guest of honor and engaging him at
once to dine with them the following Sunday, or any day which he might
select. Madame coquetted with him in the most captivating and naive
manner, with eyes, gestures, and a profusion of compliments, till the
Colonel's old head felt thirty years younger on his padded shoulders.
Edna marveled, not comprehending. She herself was almost devoid of
coquetry.