The Return by Walter De la Mare
page 74 of 310 (23%)
page 74 of 310 (23%)
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daughter's laughing greeting from the garden, and from the
landing above her, a faint 'Ah, and how are we now?' broke out simultaneously. And Ada, silent and discreet, had thrown open the door again to the twilight and to the young people ascending the steps. Lawford was still sitting on his bed before a cold and ashy hearth when Sheila knocked at the door. 'Yes?' he said; 'who's there?' No answer followed. He rose with a shuddering sigh and turned the key. His wife entered. 'That little exhibition of finesse was part of our agreement, I suppose?' 'I say--' began Lawford. 'To creep out in my absence like a thief, and to return like a mountebank; that was part of our compact?' 'I say,' he stubbornly began again, 'did you wire for Alice?' 'Will you please answer my question? Am I to be a mere catspaw in your intrigues, in this miserable masquerade before the servants? To set the whole place ringing with the name of a doctor that doesn't exist, and a bedridden patient that slips out of the house with his bedroom key in his pocket! Are you aware that Ada has been hammering at your door every half-hour of your absence? Are you aware of that? How much,' she continued in a low, bitter voice, 'how much should I offer for her discretion?' |
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