By the way,
how long am I expected to remain in this state of matrimonial bliss?
That's no small detail, you know, even though it escaped for the
moment."
"Three weeks."
"Three weeks?" He almost reeled.
"That's a long time in these days of speedy divorces," said Medcroft
blandly.
CHAPTER II
THE SISTER-IN-LAW
The Gare de l'Est was thronged with people when Brock appeared, fully
half an hour before departing time. In no little dismay, he found
himself wondering if the whole of Paris was going away or, on the other
hand, if the rest of the continent was arriving. He felt a fool in
Medcroft's unspeakable checked suit; and the eyeglass was a much more
obstinate, untractable thing than he had even suspected it could be. The
right side of his face was in a condition of semi-paralysis due to the
muscular exactions required; he had a sickening fear that the scowl that
marked his brow was destined to form a perpetual alliance with the smirk
at the corner of his nose, forever destroying the symmetry of his face.
If one who has not the proper facial construction will but attempt the
feat of holding a monocle in place for unbroken hours, he may come to
appreciate at least one of the trials which beset poor Brock.
Every one seemed to be staring at him. He heard more than one American
in the scurrying throng say to another, "English," and he felt relieved
until an Englishman or two upset his confidence by brutally alluding to
him as a "confounded American toady.
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