Maldon had not taken the whole of the money upstairs, but reflection
did much to convince him that she had. It was infinitely regrettable
that he had not counted his treasure-trove under the chair.
IV
The service of his meal, which had the charm of a picnic, was
interrupted by the arrival of the doctor, whose report on the invalid,
however, was so favourable that Louis could quite dismiss the possibly
homicidal aspect of his dealings with the bank-notes. The shock of the
complete disappearance of the vast sum had perhaps brought Mrs.
Maldon to the brink of death, but she had edged safely away again,
in accordance with her own calm prophecy that very morning. When the
doctor had gone, and the patient was indulged in her desire to be
left alone for sleep, Louis very slowly and luxuriously finished his
repast, with Rachel sitting opposite to him, in Mrs. Maldon's place,
at the dining-table. He lit a cigarette and, gracefully leaning
his elbows on the table, gazed at her through the beautiful grey
smoke-veil, which was like the clouds of Paradise.
What thrilled Louis was the obvious fact that he fascinated her. She
was transformed under his glance. How her eyes shone! How her cheek
flushed and paled! What passionate vitality found vent in her little
gestures! But in the midst of this transformation her honesty,
her loyalty, her exquisite ingenuousness, her superb dependability
remained.
Pages:
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176