““A modest frugal retirement for a loyal Imperial bureaucrat?” said Pidge. “And yet your mother so wealthy.” “Doesn’t bother her,” Ivan said stoutly. “But does it bother him?” About to deny this with equal vehemence, Ivan realized that among the many things he didn’t know about Simon . . . that was another. “I am sure he has more important things on his mind.” Pidge smiled at him. “Fascinating.” With a little Shiv-like wave of her fingers, she trailed away toward the party; Byerly, with one of his less-comprehensible grimaces, promptly trailed after.””
![“It is so hard and long before a student comes to a realization that these [first] few large simple spots in right relations are the most important things in the study of painting. They are the fundamentals of all painting.” quote by Charles Webster Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e77/charles-webster-hawthorne-1729_education_it-is-so-hard-and-long-before-a-student_12666.jpg)
