Excerpt from The Household of Peter: A Novel But he has not asked us yet, Ranee, ' objected her sister, 'and I am not at all sure that he will do so; and perhaps if we were to drop a hint, or throw a little cold water, when first he starts the idea, he may be induced to think with us. Peter is only a young man, and in matters of etiquette women are often the best judges.' Vera spoke with such unusual decision and dignity that Sallie, who had hitherto remained silent, looked up rather apprehensively from her drawing, - only at that moment Ranee tapped the table playfully and called them to order. Vera may be right, as I said before, but I refuse to say another word until Peter comes in. It is only an hour before luncheon, and I mean to Sit down to my lace-work so, ladies, we will consider the case of Hannah Burke shelved for the present.' Ranee's mode of disposing of a vexed question was more than a trifle abrupt, and Vera, who would have preferred to talk over the matter comfortably, looked somewhat disappointed; but she was yielding and gentle by nature, and generally followed her sister's lead. Ranee was impetuous, but she was wonderfully clever and quick-witted, and undoubtedly she was right in one matter: whatever their own private opinion might be, at the Red House Peter's word was law. In their simple creed the family pope was infallible, and might issue a new bull if he pleased every day of his life. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.