To be sure he had warned her that he could not hope to
reach the front rank at once; that recognition must be gradual; and that
he must needs work slowly in order to do himself justice. She had
accepted this chiefly as a manifestation of modesty, not doubting that
many orders would be forthcoming, especially now that he had the new
stimulus of her love and inspiration. Instead there had been no marked
increase in the number of his commissions; moreover he had been
unsuccessful in two out of three competitions for minor public buildings
for which he had submitted designs. From both the pecuniary and
professional point of view these failures had been a disappointment. He
was in good spirits and obviously happy, and declared that he was doing
as well as he could reasonably expect; yet on his discouraged days he
admitted that the cost of retaining his draughtsmen was a drain on the
profit side of his ledger.
In contrast with this the prosperity of her neighbors the Williamses was
a little hard to bear. The sudden friendship developed into neighborly
intimacy, and she and Flossy saw much of each other, dropping in
familiarly, and often walking and shopping together. The two men were on
sufficiently cordial terms, each being tolerant of the other's
limitations, and seeking to recognize his good points for the sake of
the bond between their wives.
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