He looked so completely what he ought to look, she thought--magnificently healthy and handsome, and perfectly groomed.

No mother could help being proud of him.
"Tristram, dear boy, now tell me all about it," she said.
"There is hardly anything to tell you, Mother, except that I am going to be married about the 25th of October--and--you will be awfully nice to her--to Zara--won't you ?" He had taken the precaution to send round a note, early in the morning, to Francis Markrute, asking for his lady's full name, as he wished to tell his family; so the "Zara" came out quite naturally! "She is rather a peculiar person, and--er--has very stiff manners.

You may not like her at first." "No, dear ?" said Lady Tancred hesitatingly, "Stiff manners you say?
That at least is on the right side.

I always deplore the modern free-and-easy-ness." "Oh, there is nothing free-and-easy about her!" said Tristram, helping himself to a cutlet, while he smiled almost grimly.

His sense of humor was highly aroused oven the whole thing; only that overmastering something which drew him was even stronger than this.
Then he felt that there was no use in allowing his mother to drag information from him; he had better tell her what he meant her to know.
"You see, Mother, the whole thing has been arranged rather suddenly.