Billywasnotayoungwomanthatdidthingsbyhalves。Longago，inthedaysofherchildhood，herAuntEllahadoncesaidofher：IfonlyBillydidn’tgointothingsallover，so；butwhetherit’smeaslesormudpies，Ialwaysknowthatshe’llbethemeasliestorthemuddiestofanychildintown!’Itcouldnotbeexpected，therefore，thatBillywouldbegintoplayhernewrlenowwithanylackofenthusiasm。Butevenhadsheneededanyincentive，therewasstilleverringinginherearsBertram’saccusing：Ifyou’dtendtoyourhusbandandyourhomealittlemore——’BillystilldeclaredveryemphaticallythatshehadforgivenBertram；butsheknew，inherheart，thatshehadnotforgotten。
Certainly，asthedayspassed，itcouldnotbesaidthatBillywasnottendingtoherhusbandandherhome。Frommorningtillnight，now，shetendedtonothingelse。Sheseldomtouchedherpiano——savetodustit——andshenevertouchedherhalf-finishedsong-manuscript，longsincebanishedtotheoblivionofthemusiccabinet。ShemadenocallsexceptoccasionalflyingvisitstotheAnnex，ortotheprettynewhomewhereMarieandCyrilwerenowdelightfullysettled。TheoperaandtheSymphonywereoverfortheseason，butevenhadtheynotbeen，Billycouldnothaveattendedthem。Shehadnotime。
Surelyshewasnotdoinganygallivanting’
now，shetoldherselfsometimes，alittleaggrievedly。
Therewas，indeed，notime。FrommorninguntilnightBillywasbusy，flyingfromonetasktoanother。Herambitiontohaveeverythingjustrightwasequalledonlybyherdoggeddeterminationtojustshowthem’thatshecoulddothisthing。Atfirst，ofcourse，hamperedasshewasbyignoranceandinexperience，eachtaskconsumedabouttwiceasmuchtimeaswasnecessary。