human
I don't know just what it is, my dear, he once said, musingly.
gpt
Possibly the familiar furniture, or the presence of Ellen Neal (quite a fair cook, Dollykins, though her manner leaves something to be desired). But somehow in this little establishment of yours I always feel as if--well, as if Mary were about somewhere. He sighed sentimentally.
human
I feel as if she might at any moment sit down beside us and take out a bit of sewing. She was rarely without sewing, you remember?
gpt
I remember. Joan patted his hand, a demonstration rare with her.
human
I am glad you feel that way, Father. Mother always does seem very close to me--especially just now. An odd feeling of sorriness for her step-mother came over Joan.
gpt
You are sure, she asked on an impulse,
human
Object? To my visiting my daughter under her own vine and figtree? It would hardly be within her province to object, he commented regally.
gpt
But, as it happens, she is the one who frequently suggests my visits. She quite understands that under the--er, the happy circumstances--you cannot come much to us, not caring naturally to appear any more often than is necessary in public.