since her marriage. She was almost plump and she wore a single short fat
curl pendent behind her ear.

A few months subsequent to this dinner party Flossy announced one day
that Mr. Silas S. Parsons, whom Selma had seen with the Williamses at
the theatre nearly three years before, had come to live in New York with
his wife and daughter. Flossy referred to him eagerly as one of her
husband's most valuable customers, a shrewd, sensible, Western business
man, who had made money in patent machinery and was superbly rich. He
had gone temporarily to a hotel, but he was intending to build a large
house on Fifth Avenue near the park. Selma heard this announcement with
keen interest, asking herself at once why Wilbur should not be the
architect. Why not, indeed? She promptly reasoned that here was her
chance to aid her husband; that he, if left to his own devices, would do
nothing to attract the magnate's attention, and that it behooved her, as
an American wife and a wide-awake, modern woman, to let Mr. Parsons know
his qualifications, and to prepossess him in Wilbur's favor by her own
attractions. The idea appealed to her exceedingly. She had been hoping
that some opportunity to take an active part in the furtherance of
Wilbur's career would present itself, for she felt instinctively that
with her co-operation he would make more rapid progress. Here was
exactly the occasion longed for. She saw in her mind's eye Mr. Parsons's
completed mansion, stately and beautiful, the admired precursor of a
host of important edifices--a revolutionizing monument in contemporary
architecture. Wilbur would become the fashion, and his professional
success be assured, thanks to the prompt ability of his wife to take
advantage of circumstances. So she would prove herself a veritable
helpmate, and the bond of marital sympathy would be strengthened and
refreshed.

To begin with, Selma hinted to Mrs. Williams that Mr. Parsons might do
worse than employ Wilbur to design his house. Flossy accepted the
suggestion with enthusiasm and promised her support, adding that Mr.
Parsons was a person of sudden and strong fancies, and that if he were
to take a fancy to Wilbur, the desired result would be apt to follow.
Selma quickly decided that Mr. Parsons must be made to like her, for she
feared lest Wilbur's quiet, undemonstrative manner would fail to attract
him. Evidently he admired the self-confidence and manly assertion of
Gregory Williams, and would be lia