Her color was too high, and yet it was not utterly unbecoming.

She had friendly gray-blue eyes, which went well with her light-brown hair; along with a pink flowered house-gown, which became her fulling figure, she wore pearls.
"The widow of two husbands," thought Cowperwood; "the mother of two children!" With the Colonel's easy introduction began a light conversation.

Mrs.Carter gracefully persisted that she had known of Cowperwood for some time.

His strenuous street-railway operations were more or less familiar to her.
"It would be nice," she suggested, "since Mr.Cowperwood is here, if we invited Grace Deming to call." The latter was a favorite of the Colonel's.
"I would be very glad if I could talk to Mrs.Carter," gallantly volunteered Cowperwood--he scarcely knew why.

He was curious to learn more of her history.