Abbott. There were several books on the table
which he happened to know Masters had received within the week.
When the new wave reached Mrs. McLane she announced angrily that all
the gossip in San Francisco originated in the Union Club, and refused
to listen to details. But she was anxious, nevertheless, for she knew
that Madeleine, whether she recognized the fact or not, was in love
with Langdon Masters, and she more than suspected that he was with
her. He went little into society, even before his mother's death,
pleading press of work, but Mr. McLane often brought him home quietly
to dinner and she saw more of him than any one did but Madeleine. Men
had gone mad over her in her own time and she knew the stamp of
baffled passions.
It was on New Year's Day, during Masters' absence in Richmond, that
an incident occurred which turned Society's attention, diverted for
the moment by an open divorce scandal, to Madeleine Talbot once more.
XIX
New Year's Day in San Francisco was one of pomp and triumphs, and
much secret heart-burning. Every woman who had a house threw it open
and the many that lived in hotels were equally hospitable. There was
a constant procession of family barouches, livery stable buggies and
hacks. The "whips" drove their mud-bespattered traps with as grand an
air as if on the Cliff House Road in fine weather; and while none was
ignored whose entertaining was lavish, those who could count only on
admiration and friendship compared notes eagerly during the following
week.
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