The answer is D the variety of riches experienced by both women. The word auspices is used in a context in which the author mention that the two women are cousins, and that they have experienced richness in different ways: Laura as the only daughter of wealthy parents and Janette had lost her father and her widow mother had not received anything from his business. Comparing the richness of the heart with the richness of materialism is how the word auspice is explained.
