Peter had at first tormented me mercilessly about the affair , but when he saw I did not like his chaff he stopped it . Peter was always a good fellow . He realized that I regarded the matter seriously , and he saw me off when I left for the east with a grin tempered by honest sympathy and understanding . `` Good luck to you , '' he said . `` If you win Marian Lindsay you 'll win a pearl among women . I have n't been able to grasp her taking to you in this fashion , though . It 's so unlike Marian . But , since she undoubtedly has , you are a lucky man . '' I arrived in Croyden at dusk and went to Uncle Tom 's . There I found them busy with preparations for a party to be given that night in honour of a girl friend who was visiting my cousin Edna . I was secretly annoyed , for I wanted to hasten at once to Marian . But I could n't decently get away , and on second thoughts I was consoled by the reflection that she would probably come to the party . I knew she belonged to the same social set as Uncle Tom 's girls . I should , however , have preferred our meeting to have been under different circumstances . From my stand behind the palms in a corner I eagerly scanned the guests as they arrived . Suddenly my heart gave a bound . Marian Lindsay had just come in . I recognized her at once from her photograph . It had not flattered her in the least ; indeed , it had not done her justice , for her exquisite colouring of hair and complexion were quite lost in it . She was , moreover , gowned with a taste and smartness eminently admirable in the future Mrs. Eric Curtis .
I felt a thrill of proprietary pride as I stepped out from behind the XXXXX .
dusk fashion hair heart palms party photograph reflection sympathy understanding