The long way

A young woman returns to her sister's sumptuous Washington household and confronts a sense of unreality and social discomfort. Surrounded by ornate rooms, artificial gaiety, and polished entertainments, she observes guests and family with keen, inward perception, registering subtle tensions beneath polite conversation and leisure pursuits. Through domestic scenes—cards, conservatory, terrace—and careful attention to manners and material display, the narrative traces competing loyalties, class distinctions, and the protagonist's quiet struggle to define her own identity amid wealth, expectation, and constrained relationships.