stood in front of the fireplace and let the storm beat around me,
and tried to look perfectly cold and indifferent, and not to see
Mr. Harbison's shocked face. No wonder he thought them a lot of
savages, browbeating their hostess the way they did.

"It's a fool thing anyhow," Max Reed wound up, "to celebrate the
anniversary of a divorce--especially--" Here he caught Jim's eye
and stopped. But I had suddenly remembered. BELLA DOWN IN THE
BASEMENT!

Could anything have been worse? And of course she would have
hysteria and then turn on me and blame me for it all. It all came
over me at once and overwhelmed me, while Anne was crying and
saying she wouldn't cook if she starved for it, and Aunt Selina
was taking off her wraps. I felt queer all over, and I sat down
suddenly. Mr. Harbison was looking at me, and he brought me a
glass of wine.

"It won't be so bad as you fear," he said comfortingly. "There
will be no danger once we are vaccinated, and many hands make
light work. They are pretty raw now, because the thing is new to
them, but by morning they will be reconciled."

"It isn't the work; it is something entirely different," I said.
And it was. Bella and work could hardly be spoken in the same
breath.

If I had only turned her out as she deserved to be, when she
first came, instead of allowing her to carry through the wretched
farce about seeing Takahiro! Or if I had only run to the basement