“Miss Prim, how lovely to see you again!” The calm, gentle tones of Herminia Treaumont, who had risen to greet her, brought her back to reality.
“It’s lovely to see you too, Miss Treaumont.”
“Please, call me Herminia. And may I call you Prudencia? We’re neither of us old enough to be so formal, are we?”
“Definitely not,” replied Miss Prim, blushing to the roots of her hair.
Despite her bad mood, she soon managed to join in the conversation. In addition to her hostess, there were three other women and two men at the table. One was introduced as Judge Bassett, a short, thickset man with bushy eyebrows and mustache, whose eyes would only focus when he found the conversation of interest. The other was a young man answering to the name of François Flavel, who was the only vet in the area. The women were Mrs. Von Larstrom, owner of the San Ireneo Hotel; the elderly Miss Miles, a walking encyclopedia on the subject of folk customs; and young Amelia Lime, the judge’s secretary. After discussing the principal matters bearing on the Christmas preparations, ranging from the choice of hymns to the fabulous candle illuminations and the street decorations, which would consist of garlands of foliage and wild berries, the committee moved on to the main events of the festivities. More than an hour was spent itemizing all the details yet to be settled. Then the conversation became more personal. This was when Miss Prim moved her chair closer to the vet’s and, with the memory of the Man in the Wing Chair’s behavior still painfully vivid in her mind, prepared to deploy all her charm.
“I adore animals,” she said with her most beguiling smile.
The target of this remark grinned back at her and was about to respond pleasantly when Judge Bassett’s deep voice interrupted.
“That must be because you’ve never been on a farm. I wager you’ve never seen a cow give birth. Ask him, ask our vet if it’s pleasant sticking your arm up to the shoulder inside a cow’s private parts. Tell me, my dear, have you ever had occasion to see a cow calving?”
Miss Prim straightened her back and squared her jaw.
“Of course not, but my understanding is that you can love animals without having witnessed such a spectacle.”
The young vet hastened to concur. You could definitely love animals without having to undergo the experience of exploring their reproductive systems. Millions of people throughout history had done so.
“You may both be right, but I think it important to distinguish between a love of animals, which is a strong and noble thing, and the cloying sentimentality that some people confuse it with. Naturally, I take it as given that that’s not your case, young lady.”
“Naturally,” chimed in the vet amiably.
Miss Prim said nothing.
“Do you have a dog?” the judge asked.
Miss Prim replied that she did not, unfortunately, have a dog.
“A cat, perhaps? You look like a cat owner. I thought it the moment I saw you.”
“I thought so too,” said the younger man cheerfully. “There’s something feline about you, if you don’t mind me saying.”
Miss Prim assured him warmly that she was delighted to accept this compliment, but her sense of honor obliged her to make it clear that, despite appearances, she had never had a cat.
“A canary?” said Judge Bassett.
She shook her head.
“A tortoise?” suggested François.
Miss Prim had to confess that she had never lived with any shelled creature either.
“A fish, maybe?” Judge Bassett persisted, now with a noticeable edge of impatience to his voice.
“I’ve never owned an animal,” she said in an attempt to bring the interrogation to a halt. “I’ve always been of the opinion that the absence of the object of one’s love purifies that love.”
“That’s a good theory,” exclaimed Judge Bassett with satisfaction. “If most men believed the same, divorce probably wouldn’t exist and, if pushed, I’d say marriage wouldn’t either.”
François looked at Miss Prim in silence.
“Do you mean that you love dogs in the abstract?”
“Exactly,” she said with a smile.
“And cats?”
