Sublime

“Vanity, thy name is woman,” Derek said with what seemed like a forced joviality. He was not, Ursula noticed, as comfortable in social situations as she had first thought. She smiled at him, feeling a new bond. She was marrying a stranger, she realized. (“Everyone marries a stranger,” Hugh said.)

“It takes a long time to drive to … the Bu.”

Devon was no saint, but he had always been a solid friend, and he merited better treatment than this.

That’s how myths work. Macduff, and Lady Macbeth.

“My conductor’s the best person in the whole Society,” she began. “Really?” His eyebrows shot up. “The BEST?” “Yes. Much better than you.”

Votaries