In each there had been Americans, and hotels, cafes and dances, motor trips and lunches, gossip and scandal without end.

But she told of it all in a humorous way that made it quite amusing.

And it was a good deal the same with the two women, Amy's friends, whom Fanny brought to tea a bit later.

Their gossip and their laughter, their voices breaking into each other and making a perfect hubbub at times, their smart suits and hats and dainty boots, their plump faces, lively eyes, all were quite exciting to Ethel, when she threw off her hostility and the uneasiness they aroused.

It felt good to be gossipy once more.
But how they chattered! How they stayed! Joe would be coming home soon now, and she wanted them to go.