Anyway, I said he might stay and lodge with our stable-man.

He would sing very well if he had a better voice--don't you think so ?" "We do not generally accommodate," "I said he might stay"-- these were phrases which I turned over in my mind.

If she were the lady clerk she might say "we"-- even the boy said "we"-- but "I said he might stay" was different.

A daughter of a landlord or a landlady might say that.
I made a remark about the difficulty of finding lodging for man and beast, if the beast happened to be a bear, and I had scarcely finished it when from the house there came a shrill voice, flavored with lemon without any sugar, and it said, "Mrs.Chester!" "Excuse me," said the young lady, and immediately she went in-doors.
Here was a revelation! Mrs.Chester! Strange to say, I had not thought of her as a married woman; and yet, now that I recalled her manner of perfect self-possession, she did suggest the idea of a satisfied young wife.

And Mr.Chester--what of him?
Could it be possible?
Hardly.
There was nothing about her to suggest a widow..