It gave him great comfort, however, to note that there were no signs of the morning's displeasure remaining on this face; and he immediately remembered again those interrupted projects of his about the piano and the hired girl.
"Well! I'd just about begun to reckon that I was a widow," said Alice, putting down her fragrant burden.

There was such an obvious suggestion of propitiation in her tone that Theron went around and kissed her.

He thought of saying something about keeping out of the way because it was "Blue Monday," but held it back lest it should sound like a reproach.
"Well, what kind of a washerwoman does THIS one turn out to be ?" he asked, after they were seated, and he had invoked a blessing and was cutting vigorously into the meat.
"Oh, so-so," replied Alice; "she seems to be particular, but she's mortal slow.

If I hadn't stood right over her, we shouldn't have had the clothes out till goodness knows when.

And of course she's Irish!" "Well, what of THAT ?" asked the minister, with a fine unconcern.
Alice looked up from her plate, with knife and fork suspended in air.
"Why, you know we were talking only the other day of what a pity it was that none of our own people went out washing," she said.