`` If a man had jilted me twenty years ago , I would n't be so overwhelmingly glad to see him when he came back -- especially if he had got fat and bald-headed , '' she added , her face involuntarily twitching into a smile . Cecily , in spite of her serious expression and intense way of looking at life , had an irrepressible sense of humor . Tea that evening was not the pleasant meal it usually was . The two women were wont to talk animatedly to each other , and Cecily had many things to tell Lucy Ellen . She did not tell them . Neither did Lucy Ellen ask any questions , her ill-concealed excitement hanging around her like a festal garment . Cecily 's heart was on fire with alarm and jealousy . She smiled a little cruelly as she buttered and ate her toast . `` And so that was Cromwell Biron , '' she said with studied carelessness . `` I thought there was something familiar about him . When did he come home ? '' `` He got to Oriental yesterday , '' fluttered back Lucy Ellen . `` He 's going to be home for two months . We -- we had such an interesting talk this afternoon . He -- he 's as full of jokes as ever . I wished you 'd been here . '' This was a fib . Cecily knew it . `` I do n't , then , '' she said contemptuously . `` You know I never had much use for Cromwell Biron .
I think he had a face of his own to come down here XXXXX see you uninvited , after the way he treated you . ''
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