One thing about Peggy, he thought. She was a damned efficient woman, someone he could depend on in the final analysis. A man needed a wife like that. If there were one bit of advice he could give to a young man about to get married, or considering doing so, it would be to look at the woman objectively, shut out all illusions of romantic attraction and ask, "Is this woman going to be an asset to my career, or a hinderance? Or nothing, one way or the other?" Thank God Peggy was an asset. She knew how to act as a hostess, knew how to dress, how to conduct herself at other functions, and had a certain charming air about her wherever they were seen together. Except for her occasional rantings-about "Woman's needs," she was a good wife.
In these infrequent moments of evaluation, Paul Stone felt
