Selma was unconscious of the existence of this doubt as she had been largely unconscious of her own sour demeanor.  She had no wish to lose the advantages of intimate association with the Williamses.  On the contrary, she expected to make progress on her own account by admission into their new social circle.  She went promptly to call, and saw fit to show herself tactfully appreciative of the new establishment and more ready to listen to Flossy’s volubility.  Flossy, who was radiant and bubbling over with fresh experiences which she was eager to impart, was glad to dismiss her doubt and to give herself up to the delights of unbridled speech.  She took Selma over her new house, which had been purchased just as it stood, completely furnished, from the previous owner, who had suffered financial reverses.  “Gregory bought it because it was really a bargain,” she said.  “It will do very well for the present, but we intend to build before long.  I am keeping my eye on your husband, and am expecting great things from the Parsons house.  Do you know, I believe in Mr. Littleton, and feel sure that some day we shall wake up and find him famous.”

This was amiable, particularly as Flossy was very busily engaged in contemplating the brilliant progress of Gregory Williams and his wife.  But Selma returned home feeling sore and dissatisfied.  Flossy had been gracious, but still dense and naively condescending.  Selma chose to foresee that her friend would neglect her, and her foresight was correct.  The call was not returned for many weeks, although Flossy had assured her when they separated that distance would make no difference in their intimacy.  But in the first place, her doubts recurred to Flossy after the departure of her visitor, and in the second, the agitations incident to her new surroundings, fortified by these doubts, made neglect easy.  When she did call, Selma happened to be out.  A few days later an invitation to dine with the Williamses arrived.  Selma would have preferred to remain at home as a rebuke, but she was miserably conscious that Flossy would not perceive the point of the refusal.  So she went, and was annoyed when she realized that the guests were only people whom she knew already—­the Parsonses, and some of Gregory Williams’s former associates, whom she had met at the old house.  It was a pleasant dinner, apparently, to all except Selma.  The entertainment was flatteringly lavish, and both the host and hostess with suavity put in circulation, under the rose, the sentiment that there are no friends like old friends—­a graceful insincerity which most of them present accepted as true.  Indeed, in one sense it was not an insincerity, for Gregory and his wife entertained cordial feelings toward them all.  But on the other hand, Selma’s immediate and bitter conclusion was also true, that the company had been invited together for the reason that, in the opinion of Flossy, they would not have harmonized well with anyone else.